Well Dressed and Worrisome
by yesiwritefanfiction
Summary: Phil, a 27-year-old english professor, can't help but notice Dan, his 23-year-old student.
1. Chapter 1

This is another older story of mine, but I'm reuploading it

* * *

Dan squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, his pants growing tighter as he looked over the long, well dressed form of his professor, Mr. Lester.

He was famous amongst the girls all over the campus, and even more famous among the boys.

Mr. Lester walked around the classroom, speaking with hands, speaking so articulately. Dan had never found intelligence so attractive, until he took this class.

Fortunately for Dan, he always sat in the back of the classroom. He was pretty certain that his professor hardly realized he was back there.

Although, it wasn't a particularly large classroom either.

"Daniel, is it?" Mr. Lester paused, like he normally does in his lectures and asks for a student's thoughts. But he never asked for his own.

"Dan," he stammered out, his palms already becoming sweatier than they were before. "Call me Dan."

"Dan then," he corrected himself and continued with his question.

Despite his sweaty palms and racing heart, Dan managed to settle his mind as he listened to the question.

As he finished with his response he realized how out of breath he had become and felt as if were panting like he had run a marathon. He was certain that everyone had heard him losing and now trying to catch his breath. He was glad however, that he even had a response to give as he loved reading and literature and nearly every reading assignment there professor had set turned out to be fantastic.

"Thank you, Dan," his professor flashed a brilliant smile, and Dan thought his heart was going to burst from his chest as the lecture continued.

 _You're not a fucking fourteen year old girl. What the hell is your problem?_ Dan berated himself.

There was no possible way that Mr. Lester was unaware of the gossip about him and the way the girls, and boys, talked about him.

He did have a sort of innocent look about him, but the insights he shared with the class were far too mature that he couldn't also have a mature sense of humor, and didn't let on that he had a dirty mind.

Or he was completely wrong about his professor and he kept a completely professional mindset while in class or around campus.

For all Dan knew, Mr. Lester could be the clubbing type, and getting laid, or have a serious relationship with a woman.

And he was dying to know what the case was.

As class ended and students began to shuffle out and gather their things, Dan's mind refocused to the present moment.

He managed to find himself as the last student in the classroom and with that realization he scrambled to gather up his books and folder and stuff them into his over the shoulder bag.

As he tried to slip his folder quickly into his bag, however, he managed to catch one side of it on the lining of his bag and with the force of his shoving, his folder flung out and his papers were strewn across the floor.

He was painfully aware that his professor was still lingering in the classroom as well.

Dan reached out for his papers and he looked up, realizing that his professor was approaching him while he was knelt on the floor.

"Here," Mr. Lester said softly and sank to his knees as well and began to help gather up the thin sheets of paper.

Still kneeling, Dan looked up and then at the stack of papers his professor offered to him.

"Er, thanks," he said quietly, taking the papers and slipping them into the appropriate pocket of his folder.

"Sure, Dan."

His professor hadn't moved from his position on the floor and as Dan slipped his folder into his bag, for once getting it right, Mr. Lester added in his deep, warm voice, "Thanks for sharing today. You never really speak up in class and I really enjoy reading your papers when you hand them in."

Dan's face grew warm, and he stuttered out another thank you, unable to hold eye contact with the older man for longer than about .2 seconds. His eyes were far too beautiful and searching that he was certain he'd lose himself in them and make a fool of himself.

Mr. Lester gently put a hand at the sleeve of Dan's jumper and helping him to his feet. Once stood, he glanced to his side, then at his professor as briefly as he could, as his heart pounded. The feeling of his hand was strong, and Dan knew he was very capable of hurting someone. But at the same time, his touch was very tender and gentle, supportive of him.

Mr. Lester dropped his hand, retracting it as if he had been stung, as if he had touched an electric fence that bound him from Dan.

"I'll see you in class on Wednesday?"

"Yeah," he replied, walking around Mr. Lester and towards the door.

"Have a nice afternoon."

Dan glanced back and said, "You as well," before scurrying out of the room.

He walked out into the room, heaving out a deep breath.

 _You fucking idiot. You utter, complete twat. Why the fuck do you have to be such a klutz?_ Dan reprimanded himself for the umpteenth time.

 _You've made an absolute fool of yourself._

Dan ran a hand across his sweaty brow, cringing.

 _You're such a fucking mess._

But as he replayed the entire event in his mind, another thing occurred to him. _He likes my papers. He likes my papers._ Suddenly Dan had a goofy grin on his face as he walked out of the building and headed towards the cafeteria.

He pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth, trying not to smile.

"Ah, I see Lester's got you all love-sick again," Dan's mischievous friend, Chris, appeared at his side, falling into step beside him.

Nerves dissipated, and mind relaxed once again he replied calmly, "Well, can you blame me?"

"Not really," Chris replied, and the young men grinned at each other.

Their paths always converged just outside the cafeteria where they would meet another one of their friends, PJ.

Chris and Dan went and bought their lunch and joined PJ at a circular table in a far corner of the cafeteria.

"You know you could totally shag him," he said to Dan, earning gasps from him as he nearly inhaled his soda. PJ and Chris both laughed wildly at him.

"Are you mad? Of course I couldn't." Dan argued when he caught his breath, scowling at the pair of them.

"Sure you could. Isn't he only, like, 27?" PJ said.

"How should I know?"

"Well, that's what I've heard, anyway." He replied, already immune to Dan's snarky attitude that he'd adopted as of late.

"Well, even if he is just a few years older than me, I'm still his student. Which, is still illegal and he could be sacked. He's a brilliant teacher and I don't want him to lose his job just because I'm a horn-dog."

"So you've admitted it then," Chris smirked at Dan.

"No use trying to keep it a secret. From you two, at least."

"Not that you could hide it." PJ added quickly and Dan shot him a look, raising a hand as if he were about to tell PJ off but gave up.

"Besides, you're definitely not the only one."

Chris nodded off towards the cafeteria entrance, and Dan looked up.

His overwhelmingly attractive teacher was getting himself lunch and Chris said something about everyone checking him out that Dan never really registered, but he glanced around and hell. Chris was right.

Nearly everyone in the cafeteria was looking his way.

But considering his own gawking, he couldn't judge them.

However, Chris and PJ were sure that Dan's eyes rested on their professor for much longer than anyone else's.

* * *

Dan, Dan, Dan.

Never had one of Phil's students ever caught his attention quite like Dan did.

And he felt awful.

He must've made the poor young man feel so awkward.

He truly loved everything Dan wrote in his papers and was glad that he had shared in class. He was an awfully quiet student, but he had brilliant thoughts and he wanted the other students to know.

He was intelligent… and far too handsome for his own good.

While Phil was capable of keeping his mind clear during class, he often thought of Dan as he lie in bed and considered…

He shook the thoughts from his mind, hoping for the same effect that would do to an etch-a-sketch but it didn't help much.

He headed into the cafeteria for lunch, as he was growing hungry. He always woke up very early, so the time between his breakfast and lunch was rather long.

He collected and paid for his lunch and he passed through to the other side of the cafeteria, where he could exit the building and sit at a stone table.

As he walked through, his eyes slid over to notice Dan sitting around a table with his two friends, watching him pass by.

Phil offered him a small nod and half a smile, and involuntarily gulped painfully.

I mean, how else was he supposed to greet him, yet keep it minimal and professional?

He cringed as he turned towards the back doors to the cafeteria.

 _You socially awkward twat,_ he shook his head to himself so minutely that it almost wasn't visible to anyone looking on.

"Did he just?" Chris suddenly said, looking over at Dan, who had grown warm sitting there.

Their table had earned quite a few curious looks from their peers around the cafeteria and Dan slumped in his seat, attempting to make himself as small as possible.

Which was difficult for someone with a height of over six feet.

Luckily, the incident blew over and anyone previously interested enough, had then lost interest in their table and returned to their own conversations.

That afternoon Dan had another class and then he was free to catch the bus and head back to his flat that he shared with Chris.

He seemed to spend more and more time alone here as Chris was spending an increasingly large amount of time with PJ at his flat.

He wondered what would happen is Chris eventually moved in with PJ.

Dan would have to find some place more affordable, or a new roommate.

They lived comfortably already, if you could call what Chris did, living there.

Once he arrived home, he began to work on the next paper his professor assigned. He honestly enjoyed these papers because Mr. Lester gave them a lot of freedom with them and he enjoyed the novels and plays they were based off of.

The paper wasn't due until the following Monday, but he had completed it that night.

* * *

yeah so this is an older story i only ever got like 4 chapters in so im gonna upload it every couple of days

also please review bc i lost all of the original reviews i had gotten for it when it was first put up


	2. Chapter 2

It was Wednesday and Dan arrived early to class as he was unsure where Chris and PJ had gone after their previous class.

Perhaps they had found a supply closet to have a quick shag.

He cringed. _Why do you do this shit to yourself, Dan?_

He found his usual seat in the back of the classroom and tried to calm his nerves. Students began to file in one by one or two by two over the next few minutes.

Their professor arrived shortly, taking long strides into the room.

"Good morning, guys." He took his over-the-shoulder bag off and put it on the desk at the front of the room.

He seemed tired, Dan thought.

"I hope you've all at least got started on your next paper," he looked around the room, earning a few shamed faces from the other students and grinned.

His eyes paused as they landed on Dan and he couldn't help but let a small smile tug on his lips. He had finished the paper, but he doubted anyone realized.

Their professor began his lecture for the day, and luckily, Dan was not asked any questions about any play or novel.

Yet, he seemed to lose himself in the way Mr. Lester moved about the front of the room, talking with his hands. He had his button up shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and damn did it cling to his chest and shoulders so perfectly.

His dark slacks looked fantastic over his long legs as well and it wasn't long before Dan had to shift in his chair painfully.

Dazedly, he found himself the last student in the classroom again when the lecture ended and he hurriedly gathered up his books. He stood and began to head for the exit.

"I trust that you've begun your paper, Dan," his professor said, stopping him in his tracks.

If it weren't for the respect he had for him, Dan would have pretended he didn't hear the question and continued out into the hall.

"Er, yes, sir," He said, and he began to blush furiously at his choice of words.

It was far too pornographically cheesy, but perhaps he was the only one that thought so.

 _Get your head out of the gutters, Dan._

"It is coming along well?"

"It's fine, thanks." _Now can I please leave before my heart explodes?_

"Alright… Er, have a nice afternoon then, Dan."

"Thanks, professor." Dan propelled himself forward, towards the corridor, then at the last minute he turned and said, "You too."

That afternoon, Dan couldn't find Chris or PJ, and he didn't want to wait for them before he bought his own lunch, ate, and left for the library.

He ate quickly, letting his eyes scan the room for them, but they never showed. Within ten minutes he was dumping his trash into a bin and leaving the cafeteria again, heading towards the other side of campus.

He walked quickly, eager to get out of the sun and when he stepped inside the quiet building he breathed a sigh of relief.

The library wasn't always very busy, but it seemed like most of the tables were taken up today. He dropped his books into the book return chute and made his way towards the isles of books.

Fiction was his genre of choice, and he read nearly every sub-genre.

He found two books he figured he'd be able to complete in three weeks and checked them out.

Heading towards the back of the library, he noticed that most of the tables were still being taken up by other students. The last one left available was a larger, rectangular table. He sat down at one end, laying his bag across the table, and opened up one of his books.

He tuned in easily, the words filling his head and transporting him to another world.

He forgot about the sounds of the other students or campus employees. He didn't hear the sound of quiet chatting, or books being stacked or slid back into or out of place, or the sound of the computers that the librarians were working on.

"Dan?"

He nearly jolted in his seat at the sound of his professor's voice. He looked up and into the hesitant light-colored eyes of Mr. Lester.

"Professor," he replied, looking at him expectantly and was proud that his voice sounded even for once.

"Is it alright if I sit at this table? All the other tables are taken."

Dan glanced around. All of the other tables were indeed full still. He looked back at his professor, determined to keep a straight face. "Sure. I don't care." _Do you realize what you do to me?_

Mr. Lester chose a spot at the other end of the table to boot up his laptop and Dan attempted to zone back into his book.

Unfortunately, he was agonizingly aware that his professor was sat there, clicking away on his keyboard.

He eventually gave up and shut his book. He reached into his jacket pocket and got out his phone. He found that he had a couple of texts from Chris.

 _Hey Dan_

The second message read,

 _Won't be back at the flat tonight. Gonna stay with PJ_

Dan sighed, and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He put his books into his bag and stood, leaving the desk and walking out of the library.

It was about time that he caught the bus to get home anyway.

* * *

Dan was unaware of the way his professor looked over at him in concern, noticing the tension in his jaw and the force of his movements.

What on earth was frustrating this boy so much?

Phil noticed that he had read something off of his phone and sighed audibly.

He watched him go, curious and concerned.

Now, as a teacher, it was natural for him to be worried about a student, but… this was bordering on a more intimate concern for Dan's wellbeing and it was troubling him.

After Phil had graded the online assignments his students had submitted he bagged up his laptop and made his own way of the library.

In the parking lot he found his car and climbed in, desperate to get out of the sun. He put his bag in the passenger seat and turned on the AC when he started the engine.

He drove away from the campus and out of the busy downtown streets towards his quiet neighborhood.

He currently rented a small, but modern townhouse. He was glad it was small; otherwise a bigger place would have seemed much emptier.

He lived alone, and he was painfully aware of it as his keys echoed when he laid them on the granite counter in his kitchen, and when he reheated leftovers for dinner.

Phil had found himself in the habit of re-reading Dan's papers before he handed them back to the class. He was still going through a free write prompt he had assigned the class.

It was a strange thing, he knew, but he imagined Dan sitting across from him, reciting the words on the paper and that he didn't have to eat dinner alone.

 _For me, reading has always been a chance to escape. My life has always been so ordinary and boring. It's why I love fiction so much. I can go to another world so much more interesting than my own. I can step into the shoes of a character much more courageous or interesting than myself._

 _I can kind of forget about everything for a couple of hours and live another life. I can forget about waking up at six AM and serving coffee to grumpy middle-aged business men and teenage girls with way too long, loud nails. I can forget that it feels like my best friend hardly lives me with anymore. I can forget that I'm a socially awkward, unaccomplished, lonely 23 year old._

 _For me, reading lets me forget._

Dan.

If only he could see how truly brilliant and interesting he was. Phil sort of wanted to take this piece of paper and wave it in his face and say, "You brilliant idiot!"

He wrote a little note on the corner, which was something he generally did for all of his students, that read: _You're not boring or uninteresting. Life can still be significant. Great response as always_

He went through the last of the papers, glad that he'd be able to hand them back on Monday and collect the next set of papers from them as well. Well, mostly he was interested in what Dan was writing.

He sighed heavily and cleared his place at the dining table, insisting to himself that he definitely was not lonely. And he definitely did not have a crush on his student.

No, he didn't have a crush.

* * *

The next morning Phil found this little coffee shop near the school campus. He normally did not drink coffee, but on this particular morning he was really feeling the consequences of staying up until 2 AM thinking about a certain student.

He stepped into the small shop, the little bell by the door jingled. He could smell rich coffee beans and hear blenders whirring as the employees quickly fixed things for the customers.

The line was moving along a bit quickly. He had no idea what to choose from the menu.

Once he reached the beginning of the line, the cashier stood taller after emptying some change into the drawer.

Phil found himself staring unapologetically into Dan's soft, brown eyes. He blinked, disbelieving.

"Er, good morning sir. What can we get you?" Dan asked, a hint of embarrassment slipping through his voice when he realized his well dressed, probably nice-car-owning professor was standing on the other side of the counter.

"Dan?"

"Sir," he replied.

"I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you at first in your uniform."

"No worries. What would you like this morning?"

"Well, I'm not sure. What do you recommend?"

Dan's eyes lit up, and Phil's heart thudded unevenly in his chest. "I've got just the thing. You'll love it. On me, okay?"

Despite that Dan's knees began to wobble, he felt a bit more at ease where he worked. He had been here so long that all of steps to run the register had become second nature. He was confident behind the register.

"No, Dan. I doubt you could hardly- I mean, it's not necessary." Phil began to refuse but Dan waved him off.

"Nonsense. I'll fix you something good, alright?"

"Er, alright. Thanks, Dan."

"Your welcome, professor. What name should I write on the cup when it's done?"

"Oh, er, Phil." He said to Dan. "Yeah, it'd be sort of weird if you wrote professor on my coffee cup, huh?"

Dan smiled widely at him, a full blown dimpled smile and _damn, does this young man know what he could get himself with a smile like that._

Phil stood over to one side of the small shop, waiting for his drink to come up at the counter. It was a short wait and Dan called, "Phil," in a voice louder than he had ever heard him speak before.

"It's kind of hot so be careful and have a nice day." He told Phil when he approached the counter.

"Thanks. You too, Dan." As Dan turned away Phil slipped a five pound note into the tip jar without him noticing.

As he exited the building, Phil noticed that Dan, aside from his name, had written on the cardboard cup:

 _Enjoy your caramel cappuccino and be careful its hot – Dan_

Dan even added a little smiley face at the end in his quick scrawl. He couldn't help but grin widely as he made his way back to his car and then to the campus.

No. It certainly wasn't a crush.

* * *

please review! thank you for reading *heart emojis*

also i am on tumblr at yesiwritefanfics . tumblr . com

thanks again

have an awesome day


	3. Chapter 3

Dan was taking two classes, as he needed to be able to work enough to come up with his half of the rent and utilities for the flat that he and Chris roomed in.

He had his classes on Monday and Wednesday and the rest of the week, aside from Saturday, he worked at the coffee shop.

He was incredibly surprised when his professor walked up to the counter.

After the entire incident blew over, he was hoping he hadn't stepped over any boundaries by paying for his coffee that morning.

Mr. Lester didn't seem to mind. After all, people do sweet things for their teachers all the time. Right?

Dan cringed to himself at the thought and let out a disappointed noise as his character had died in the video game that he and Chris were playing.

"Dan, you usually dominate me. What's got your mind all fuzzy?"

Dan scoffed, but couldn't stop the blush from rising to his cheeks. "Nothing."

"Right. Love-sick for Lester. That's kind of poetic," Chris teased, the mocking tone heavy in his voice.

"He went into the shop this morning."

"You mean your coffee shop? For real?"

"Yeah, and guess what I found out?"

"What?" Chris seemed genuinely interested.

"His name is Phil."

"His name is Phil?"

"Yeah."

"That's just perfect. I can imagine the cute nick-names now. Oh, Philly. Oh, Danny," Chris' voice took on a higher-pitch and he made dramatic facial expressions.

"Shut up, you wanker." Dan shoved Chris hard in the arm, and he nearly toppled over had it not been for the arm he shot out to catch himself on their couch cushion.

"Those are the stupidest nicknames I've ever heard." Dan added.

"Well, those are kind of better than _sweetheart_ or _sweetie-pie._ " Chris let out a dramatic shiver at the sound of the cheesy nicknames.

"Haven't you called PJ sweetie-pie before?"

"Those are private conversations, Dan! What the hell," Chris exclaimed and Dan laughed wildly at him.

"Can't help it when your room is next to mine and I hear you on the phone with him all the time."

Chris looked up, horrified, as Dan continued to laugh.

"Well," Chris recovered. "I'm sure our phone calls are no match for the hollering you do in your sleep."

"Huh?" Dan's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Oh yeah. You should hear yourself."

Chris was lying, obviously, Dan convinced himself.

"What do you mean?"

Chris' voice suddenly took on a very high pitched tone and he made over zealous noises of pleasure. "Uh, yes, professor! Yes, Yes! Oh! More, Mr. Lester!"

"You shut up. You shut up right now. You're lying." Dan hoped that his voice was intimidating enough for Chris to stop.

But he made a few more noises and when Dan moved as if he were going to hit Chris, he finally stopped.

"Aw, Dan. C'mon it's just a bit of teasing. I know you wouldn't hit me. You're a lover and not a fighter."

Dan glowered at him.

"Besides, I've never actually heard you making noises like that in your sleep. So don't worry." Chris laughed and Dan let out a visible sigh of relief.

Because if he was talking like that in his sleep, but couldn't remember the dreams, he would have been incredibly disappointed.

* * *

On Monday Dan sat in his usual seat in the back of the class. Their professor walked in, clad in his usual black pants and a powder blue button-up shirt.

"If I could have you guys pass your papers to the front of the room," he began.

People began to shuffle their things up and the sound of paper sliding and being passed around filled the room.

"I'm passing back the writing prompts from the other week as well. Notice the notes I left for you guys. I really enjoy reading your responses to the prompts."

After he had collected the piles of papers at the first seat of each row of desks, he passed their papers back, down each line of desks.

When Dan received his he noticed first that he got full points. Everyone generally did unless they didn't give a proper response. Next to his score he read: _You're not boring or uninteresting. Life can still be significant. Great response as always_

He smiled to himself, immensely grateful that he was in the back of the room so that no one would really see his goofy grin. He glanced up to his professor who had settled in the front of the room at his desk.

Mr. Lester glanced over and met his eye and he was suddenly sporting a grin to match Dan's.

He had looked away from Dan just as quickly. So quickly that no one would have realized that he had even been smiling at Dan, but still his cheeks turned pink.

 _You're not boring or uninteresting. Life can still be significant. Great response as always_

Life can still be significant.

He wondered if his professor was the type to romanticize small, rather insignificant things like the sound of friendly talking on the bus, or maybe the sound of birds tweeting in the morning.

Dan felt so incredibly insignificant in this vast universe. His life didn't mean anything compared to what would happen if, say, the sun swelled up and swallowed the earth. Everything on planet earth would die. His life wouldn't matter in the slightest to whatever sort of higher power that may or may not exist out there.

He was grumbling to himself, he knew.

He was completely uninteresting. All he did was moan and complain and have dirty thoughts about his professor.

"So I thought maybe we'd watch a film today." His professor's voice broke through his reverie.

Dan slipped his paper into his folder and leaned back in his chair as Mr. Lester was plugging the projector into his laptop.

"You know, take a step back from the usual lecture."

The projector was powering up, and a light was projected onto the clean white board at the front of the room.

He opened up a media player and a movie soon started. He got up from his seat and shut the lights off in the room.

The film was based off of one of Shakespeare's plays.

They screen writes were usually excellent, the ones they read in their books, but the movies were sort of cringe-y most of the time. But if you ignored the bad acting and quality, the movies were alright.

At least it wasn't Romeo and Juliette.

That would have been especially cringe-y.

He tuned into the film, but wasn't unaware of his professor at the front of the classroom, leaning back in his chair to watch with the class.

Dan's eyes trailed over his body, and his mouth nearly went dry. He forced himself to tune his professor out and the movie in.

A good hour and a half later, the credits were rolling and Mr. Lester was flicking the classroom lights back on and dismissing everyone.

Dan managed to not be the last student walking out for once.

* * *

That evening, Dan had the flat to himself. He baked himself a frozen dinner and turned on Netflix on the Xbox. After he ate, he left the empty, black tray on the coffee table, intending to throw it out later.

He stretched his long legs out across the couch.

He had forgotten about the TV, as whenever his mind became idle, it drifted to thoughts of his tall, thin professor.

Despite that it sucked to be alone in the apartment, where he was so paranoid that he constantly looked out the window and glanced at the entrance door, and he missed Chris' company, there was still one benefit.

He palmed himself through his lounge pants as he quickly grew harder.

He imagined Phil-, his professor, with him. He tried to imagine what it'd feel like to have their bodies pressed together, and for just a second, it felt real. He was too far gone now to really be ashamed.

He thought of Phil's hands on him as he slipped a hand into the waistband of his pants with his eyes shut. He imagined hot, breathy kisses down his neck and along his collar bones and he pushed his lounge pants down to his mid-thigh and slowly began to pump his own hardness.

He thought of, lip-nibbles and kisses and hair tugging and blow jobs. It wasn't long before he came into his hand, hips rolling and holding his noises back as he bit harshly on his lip.

It took him a moment to catch his breath and he pushed his hair off of his sweaty forehead. His legs felt like jelly, and his face felt hot.

Touching himself hadn't felt that good in a long time.

He had it really bad for his professor.

He sat up; looking down at the mess he made on his shirt and numbly walked to the restroom with his pants and boxers still around his thighs.

As he washed up he experienced that momentary emptiness that filled him just after the few seconds of bliss. Because while he totally had the hots for his professor, his feelings weren't purely lustful towards him, either.

But ever having a serious relationship with him was highly unlikely, if not down right impossible.

And due to all these thoughts-, about his professor, about the noises his apartment building made late at night, and about this really odd hollowness that filled his chest-, sleep didn't come particularly easy that night.

* * *

The next morning he caught the bus to work in a tired haze and he inhaled a bit of coffee before he started his grueling eight hour shift.

It was seven AM, and cold. He desperately missed his blankets and pillows.

However, he found a ray of sunshine on this gloomy morning when he looked up and found his professor smiling at him.

"Hi, Dan," Phil-, his professor, said to him in a tone that a close friend might use, and it tugged on Dan's lips, making him smile.

"Good morning," he replied. "Same thing as last time?"

"Yes, that'd be great," Phil slid his card across the counter towards Dan, who put his order in and gave him the total.

After Dan returned the card, Phil realized that he was impossibly taller than he originally thought.

As Phil's coffee was being made, he lingered off to the side of the shop, and made vain attempts to not watch Dan, at least from the corner of his eye.

Dan looked really fucking good in black.

When Dan called out for Phil, indicated that his coffee was done, he approached the counter and caught a second to tell him, "You're much taller when you're not slouching," before he took the coffee, slipped a bit of money into the tip jar and walked out of the busy coffee shop.

Dan's coworker caught the exchange and she grinned widely, silently teasing him, aside from the 'tut tut tut' noises she made and shook her head as if to say, "Dan, you naughty boy."

"Don't even start," he muttered to Cat underneath his breath, who only giggled in response.

They hardly had time for chit chat, anyways.

* * *

Over the next week, Dan went through the motions of going to class, work, and the small, everyday tasks that he took care of such as doing his share of cleaning in the apartment and his homework.

He'd seen Phil in class, but shared nothing more than a "good morning", a "have a good day", and pursed-lip smiles. This left Dan immensely unsatisfied, but he was sure that Phil didn't realize he existed outside of class or when he'd seen him go into the coffee shop on Friday morning.

"How are you doing?" he'd asked.

"I'm doing alright. And you, Phil?"

Dan caught his mistake and his face grew very warm. "I-, er, I mean, Professor? Sorry."

Phil chuckled and smiled brightly at Dan's sheepish expression.

"It's alright. It should be fine for you to call me Phil outside of class and off-campus."

"Okay," Dan replied lamely and took his order.

* * *

hi thank you for reading! please review it would mean a lot

also i am on tumblr at yesiwritefanfics . tumblr . com please come say hi


	4. Chapter 4

The weather in London was growing harsh and cold as they progressed further into fall and further along in Dan's college semester.

Dan would have said nothing changed, but the changing seasons were evidence of the contrary. Time was definitely passing, and he continued to feel as though he couldn't keep up. He found purpose and escape from the monotony in his books.

On a particularly cold and rainy day in October, Dan waited for the bus outside the downtown library, cursing himself for not coming prepared with more layers. He shuffled and shivered, lifting his feet off the ground to try and relieve from the cold seeping into his shoes.

There was only one other person waiting for the bus at the same stop and Dan couldn't help but envy the older, bearded man for the heavy coat he wore.

He checked the time on his phone repeatedly, continuing to shuffle, and looking down the road the bus was meant to come from.

 _Please just fucking hurry up,_ he thought, frustrated. He gazed down the road again, hoping to see the bus in the distance.

A silver, smooth-shaped car was slowing to a stop along the curb and Dan was amazed to find his professor leaning over and rolling down the window.

Calling out the window, over the sound of the rain, Phil said, "Hey, are you okay?"

Dan moved closer to hear and asked, "Huh?"

"You okay?" Phil said again.

"Yeah," Dan bent slightly in order to look in and see Phil's concerned, light-colored eyes looking up at him.

"Do you want a ride?"

"Is that, like, okay?" he asked Phil.

Understanding at Dan's meaning crossed his features but he reasoned, "Well, either way, I don't want to leave you here in the cold."

Dan supposed that whether or not it was proper to accept a ride from his professor, he was in desperate need to get out of the cold as he was sure his toes would fall off before he finally made it home.

He pulled the car door open and slid into the seat. He shut the door quickly as Phil smoothly pulled away from the curb.

"Oh," Dan moaned as he was engulfed in warmth and Phil let out a throaty chuckle.

Warmth seeped into Dan's shoes when Phil turned on the vents near his feet.

"What are you doing without good shoes?" Phil asked in a light-hearted manner.

"I didn't expect it to be so cold today," he said quietly, almost a mumble.

In truth, he needed to buy himself a new pair of shoes and the ones he was currently wearing had holes in the bottoms of them.

"I'm glad I found you then," Phil replied with his voice soft and silky, surrounding Dan like a small sanctuary.

"Thanks," Dan said to him in a by-the-way tone.

"No problem," Phil said, his tone becoming more casual as he deftly made a turn. He laughed then, and said, "Where am I taking you, anyways?"

Dan recited the name of the street where he and Chris shared a flat together and said, "Do you know where that's at? It's not very far from here."

"Yeah, I think so," Phil said.

Phil made the rest of the journey focused on the road, while Dan became more and more relaxed in the warmth of the car. He couldn't help but scan Phil's body, taking in his long legs and steady hands on the steering wheel.

He had never felt so close to Phil than when he sat beside him, without nearly a single barrier. Phil had once put a hand to his arm to help him stand and surely that was something rather intimate, although something felt even more intimate, almost dangerously so, about the calm and warmth of the car.

It was as though he and Phil were in a separate world from the rest as he gazed out into the rain that continued to fall.

Dan was dreading it when he would have to finally leave the safety of Phil's car.

"My apartment building is on the end," he finally spoken when Phil turned down his street. "On this side," he added, referring to the side of the street Phil was already driving down.

"This one?" Phil asked as he slowed to a stop in front of the building.

"Yup." Dan said. He adjusted his messenger bag and the sweater that he wore, before reaching for the door handle.

"Thanks," he said to Phil.

"No problem," Phil said cheerfully. "Keep warm."

"I'll try," Dan replied, letting out a small laugh. He pushed the door open and stepped onto the asphalt, the cold sinking into his clothing once again. "Bye, Phil. And thanks again!"

"No problem," Phil said. "Have a good night."

Dan shut the door, knowing that the warmth would quickly dissipate if he left it open. Phil waved goodbye with a smile before he pulled away and Dan slipped between the bumpers of two cars parked against the curb.

He walked up to the building and then up to his and Chris' flat. Chris wasn't home yet, but hoped he was holding up better than he had in the cold. He put his things away in his room, making a mental note to start on the reading he needed to get done after he settled in. He turned on the heater and started a kettle for tea for himself, and for Chris when he did arrive.

He put on Netflix using their gaming console for background noise while he sorted out something to make for dinner and made a mug of tea when the kettle whistled at him.

A damp Chris came into the flat not long after Dan had and dumped his things onto the couch.

"The kettle is ready if you want some tea," Dan told him from he was sat on the sofa.

"Ah, perfect. You're the best, babe," Chris joked.

"I'm definitely the best, but I'm not your babe," Dan retorted with a laugh.

"Right. You're Lester's babe," Chris said.

"Mm," Dan agreed. He stood from the couch and said, "Speaking of Lester, I got something to tell you. You won't believe me though."

"Did you guys fuck?"

Dan let out a roll of laughter and thought, _I wish_ , before saying, "He passed by me while I was waiting for the bus and he gave me a ride."

"No shit," Chris said.

"Yes shit."

Chris laughed. "So what happened?"

"Well, nothing really. I mean, it was kind of nice, I guess," Dan said with a shrug as he made himself a second cup of tea.

"All romantic and stuff," Chris teased.

"Er…," Dan paused in thought for a moment. "Not really," he finally said with a laugh.

"Hm," was Chris' response. They dropped the conversation after that, leaving each other to their own things until Chris offered to cook that night.

* * *

Later that week, Dan's throat grew rough and his nose, stuffy.

On Saturday, dread sunk into his bones when he realized how ill he had become and blamed it on the weather.

He managed to make it to work, but luckily his boss was kind and sent him home instead, telling him to return when he felt well enough. He decided to only skip that day as he knew he couldn't afford it.

But that night he e-mailed his teachers, including Phil, explaining that he'd have to miss class.

His math professor replied by the next morning and said to use his book to do his best to complete the online assignments. Phil's reply included an explanation about the online assignments and what they were currently reading as well a "get well" wish. Phil also said in his e-mail that if he didn't understand the assignments he could talk to him after class.

So that Monday, Dan worked diligently on his math assignments, knowing they'd be the most difficult, despite being sick. He drank cup after cup of coffee and tea in an attempt to soothe his throat. By Wednesday, he felt well enough to return to class, but carried cough drops with him.

At the end of Phil's lesson, Dan purposely packed his things up slowly in order to allow the rest of the students to shuffle out.

"Dan, are you feeling better?" Phil asked him.

"Yeah. I, er, I get the assignments, but I just didn't do them yet. I was working on my math on Monday and then Tuesday I had work and stuff," he explained, nearly rambling.

"No problem," Phil said. "It's still Wednesday, so you have time to turn them in for full credit still."

"Oh, erm, okay then." Dan replied. He adjusted his bag awkwardly.

"You can work on them here if you like," Phil told him. "On one of the computers. I'll just be doing some grading and planning, so it'll be quiet."

"Okay, that sounds good."

Dan chose a computer that was against the wall near the front of the classroom and logged on. He did manage to get the reading done, so all he had to do was answer the quiz questions. The quiz questions were comprehensive and in-depth so they took some thought.

He managed to get through most of them, but about mid-way through one of the assignments he was stumped.

He glanced over at Phil, and then back to the question. He supposed he could just answer with some bull-shit nonsense, but didn't want to admit defeat.

"Do you need any help?" Phil suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, er," Dan hesitated as Phil turned in his chair. "I just don't really understand this one."

Phil rolled his chair up next to Dan's and managed to keep his palms from sweating and his cheeks to heat up as they discussed the question. Phil was so close that Dan could smell his fabric softener. Dan couldn't place the exact scent, but it sure was nice.

"So," Phil said, as he leaned back. "Does that make sense?'

"Yeah, it does. Thanks," Dan said and began to fill in the answer as Phil rolled back in his chair to his own computer.

When Dan completed his assignments and stood, Phil turned quickly and said, "Hey, I know I shouldn't really do this again, but it's still pretty cold out there and I can't imagine it's helping you recover fully, so do you want me to give you a ride home?"

"No, that's not necessary, Phil," Dan said quickly. "But thank you for the help with the," he gestured to the computer.

Phil replied, "You're welcome. But are you sure you don't want a ride?"

 _I would love a ride_ , Dan thought dirtily, and nearly rolled his eyes at himself. He said, "I'm sure. Have a nice day," he paused and then added, "Professor."

Phil's eyebrows knitted almost imperceptibly and then he said in a resigned tone, but still with a smile, "Okay then. You too. Bye."

Dan left the classroom and made his way out of the building, off campus and to his bus stop.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long for the bus and made it home to work on his math assignments for that day.

While he and Chris ate dinner that night, Chris mentioned a party that he and PJ were going to on Halloween and that Dan should join them.

"I dunno," he said hesitantly. "I'll think about it."

"It'll be fun," Chris said as though that alone would tempt him.

"I bet," Dan replied. He'd much rather spend the evening alone with a book.

"You're such a loner, Dan. You need to get out more," Chris said to him.

"That is so not true. I live with you," Dan argued.

"I said you need to get out more," Chris repeated light-heartedly.

"Whatever," Dan said. He stood up from couch, taking care of his plate from dinner before going into his room for the night.

Chris shook his head at Dan's shut door.

Dan collapsed onto his bed and then turned over. He stared up at the ceiling for a while, and then absentmindedly double checked that his alarm was set for work the next morning before reaching for his bag to retrieve a book he'd recently checked out.

Dan's work shift the next day passed without much occurrence but did get to see Phil's bright eyes and friendly smile looking up at him at the beginning of his shift.

"Good morning," Dan said with a smile.

"Morning," Phil said with a grin to mirror Dan's and recited his order.

Dan collected his pay, told him it'd be ready soon, and then moved onto the next customer.

When his coffee was ready, Dan wrote a note on the outside that said, "Phil, the coolest professor in London."

"Thanks," Phil laughed when he read the note and left the shop with the cardboard cup keeping his hands warm.

* * *

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thanks again for reading


	5. Chapter 5

I'm literally so excited to post this right now its been forever since i've written and posted anything for this story

* * *

The next week passed without much incident until Friday rolled around. It was Halloween weekend.

"So are you coming?" Chris said to Dan that afternoon as they settled in to the couch to watch Netflix together.

"To?" Dan asked.

"The party," Chris said as if Dan should've known.

"Oh," Dan said. He hadn't thought about it. "I don't know."

"Well, when you decide let me know," Chris said. "I'll be leaving at like nine."

Chris tuned into their show, while Dan contemplated the party.

"Is there going to be alcohol?" Dan asked.

"Yeah," Chris said.

Dan hadn't had a good drink a long time. Nor had he done much else besides reading while not at work or in class. He could use a bit of variety, he decided.

"Okay, I'll go," he said to Chris.

"Yay," Chris said. "I'll let PJ know."

Dan tuned into their show after that and enjoyed his Friday afternoon. He had worked earlier that day and tomorrow would be his day off from work. So it worked out that the party would be that night.

Later that day, after Dan and Chris had eaten dinner, Dan began to prepare for the party.

First he showered and then went into his room to change into a navy blue sweater and jeans. Once he was dressed, he returned to the restroom. From under the sink he got out his hair straightener and a blow dryer. He dried his hair, and then straightened his hair into a fringe. He looked nice, he thought. If nice meant extremely plain and boring. He shrugged at his appearance.

He went out into the hall to knock on Chris' door.

"Yeah," Chris hollered out to him.

"I'm ready to go," Dan said.

"Okay, I'll be out soon."

Dan settled into the couch and scrolled through his tumblr dashboard as he waited for Chris, who walked out of his room only a few minutes later.

"Ready?" Chris asked him.

"Yup," Dan said.

"Okay, let's head out, then."

The two men left the apartment, grabbing their coats on the way out the door. Chris locked the door after them and they took the lift at the end of the hall to the lobby where they exited the building.

"Are you excited?" Chris asked them as they walked in the correct direction of the party's location.

It was only a five minute walk, Chris had said earlier, so they agreed to walk.

"Kind of."

Truth be told, Dan was nervous. He wasn't accustom to party settings. He had no idea what to expect.

 _Just be cool,_ he thought to himself.

It became apparent that they were approaching the right building, because loud music could be heard from a second story window.

"This is it," Chris said.

They entered the building's lobby and took the lift to the second floor. When they reached the second floor landing, they walked down the hall to the right apartment. They knocked and a few moments later they were greeted by a familiar blonde. Hazel, a friend of Chris'.

"Hey guys," she greeted them in her light voice. "Come on in!"

Dan had met Hazel on campus before, so he was slightly relieved that he was familiar with the party's host.

Chris entered and Dan followed.

"Drinks are in the kitchen. You can mix something or have a beer. And there's candy everywhere!"

It was clear that Hazel was already tipsy.

Dan followed Chris and Hazel into the kitchen where Dan mixed a drink for himself. He liked his drinks strong, but became slightly sheepish when Hazel said, "Damn, Dan! That's a lot of Vodka."

"I like my drinks strong," he said.

"I'm only teasing," she laughed and in a friendly manner, patted his arm. She took a swig from her own drink.

To Dan's surprise he fell into an easy conversation with Hazel and they were soon joined, by Jack, her boyfriend who Dan had also met once before on campus.

As the night progressed, he met a few new people, who were all surprisingly very friendly. Eventually though, Dan's night turned sour when PJ and Chris began to tease him about his "crush" on their professor. Dan wouldn't have cared in another situation where only himself, PJ, and Chris were together. But now it was as if, to Dan, everyone in the school knew about his problem.

"Hey, I don't blame you," Hazel said. "He's handsome."

Jack made a face at that comment.

Dan's desire to leave the party was at its peak.

He moved to get up from the couch he was sat on, but was met with Chris putting a drink in his hand and pushing him back down to sit.

"You know what, I ship it," Louise said then.

Dan frowned. He took a swig of the drink Chris had brought him. He almost gagged because of how strong it was. But he took a second swig.

To Dan's relief, the conversation shifted from their professor.

He finished the drink Chris had made him. When he stood he felt almost wobbly, and had a passing thought that maybe he ought to stop drinking. But he made another drink. And another.

He faded into the background of everyone's conversations. He slipped out of the apartment on wobbly legs.

* * *

It was Friday night and Halloween weekend. Phil had no papers to grade and no lessons to plan. And he would be damned if he wouldn't at least try to enjoy it.

And no movie night was complete without popcorn. So he made a late trip to the grocery store for popcorn. From the grocery store, he drove through the busy inner city streets. Carefully, Phil scanned the road and then noticed a familiar, tall brunet walking down the sidewalk.

 _Could that be Dan?_

He saw the figure wobble slightly and Phil's eyebrows knitted. He drove passed the individual and glanced back. It was definitely Dan. He didn't have a coat.

Phil pulled off to the side of the road. He put the car in park, left the engine running and got out of the car. He walked around the car and up onto the pavement.

"Dan," Phil said to him. "Are you okay? Why don't you have a coat?"

Dan stopped in his tracks and looked at Phil blankly. He blinked and then said, "I must've left it at Hazel's," in a slight slur.

Phil looked at Dan carefully. He was swaying slightly, slurring his words…

"Dan, are you drunk?"

"Only a little," Dan mumbled.

"Let me give you a ride home."

Dan raised a hand defiantly and said, "I don't need a ride home, _professor._ "

"Excuse me?" Phil said.

"I don't need anyone to baby me. I'm not some stupid baby who can't take care of himself," Dan said. He wobbled again as he began to walk passed Phil. He stumbled over his toes, and nearly fell. But Phil caught him.

"I think you need some help," Phil said again, quieter this time.

"Okay," Dan said with a sigh.

Phil helped Dan into his car. He drove up to the right building and helped Dan back out of the car. With an arm wound in Dan's he walked him into the building, into the lift, up to the right floor and up to the right apartment.

Phil tried the door, but it was locked.

"Do you have a key, Dan?"

Dan mumbled something.

"What?" Phil asked him.

"In my jacket," he said. "At Hazel's."

Dan slid away from Phil to sit against the wall.

Phil sighed and asked, "Do you have a roommate?"

"Chris," Dan answered.

"Does he have a key?"

"Yeah."

"Where is he?"

"Hazel's."

Phil considered leaving Dan here to rest until his roommate return to their apartment. But he couldn't do that. Dan needed food and water.

"Okay, c'mon. Up," Phil said to Dan.

Dan stood and took the hand Phil was offering to help him up.

"I'm breaking so many rules," Phil mumbled to himself as he led Dan back out of his apartment building.

Once outside, Phil helped him back into the car and he walked around to the driver side. He restarted the car and then reached over and buckled Dan's seatbelt for him.

"Hey," Dan said in a slightly flirtatious voice. He didn't continue his sentence.

Phil took a deep breath and pulled away from the curb. He drove out of the main city streets and to the outskirts of town where his one bedroom home was located.

Phil chewed on his bottom lip as he drove. He prayed that the other professors from the school, and his boss, would never find out about this. Taking Dan to his own home for the night was breaking so many boundaries that should never be crossed between a teacher and a student.

But Phil couldn't bear to think of how it would've felt for Dan to be left outside his apartment door when he really needed food and water. He couldn't just leave him there.

During the drive to Phil's Dan asked, "Where are we going?"

"My house," Phil answered.

"You don't have to," Dan said.

"I really do. I couldn't just leave you sitting outside your apartment."

"You're so nice," Dan said. "And handsome. And perfect."

Phil bit his lip to keep from smiling.

At least he had the comfort of knowing that his feelings for his student were mutual.

Phil pulled up to his house a few minutes later. He helped Dan from the car and into the house. Once inside he guided Dan into a chair at the kitchen dining table. From the cupboard, he got out a cup and filled it with water from the fridge. He put the cup in front of Dan.

He said, "You need water. Drink."

From the pantry he got out crackers and put those in front of Dan as well. He waited until Dan began to eat and drink before turning and putting the popcorn he bought into the microwave.

Phil sat across from Dan. He occasionally passed the popcorn towards Dan, who would take a handful here and there. Phil was constantly worried about losing his job, but he supposed that because he was probably doing the right thing, he could deal with the consequences if anybody found out about this.

Dan eventually pushed everything away from him and rested his head in his arms.

"Okay, you should probably lay down," Phil said. Dan lifted his head and groaned.

"C'mon," Phil said as he stood. He put his hand out for Dan to take and when he did, Phil guided him to his bedroom.

While Dan was lying there, mumbling something about how comfortable Phil's bed was, Phil put another cup of water and a bottle of painkillers on the end table for Dan to find in the morning.

Phil sat on the edge of the bed and Dan turned over to look at him. His eyes still drooped slightly as he looked up at Phil.

"Get some rest," Phil said to him. "Okay?"

"Okay," Dan said.

Phil paused, just to look at Dan, and then got up from the bed. He left Dan to sleep.

* * *

When Dan awoke he shifted amongst his blankets and pillows. He realized he was still wearing his shoes.

That was odd. He hated sleeping with socks, so he wondered why on earth he never took his shoes off. He opened his eyes to see a bedside table that was not his own. He blinked.

There was a tall cup of water and painkillers on the bedside table. He sat up, noting that he was fully dressed. His head began to pound.

He reached for the painkillers and the water. He emptied two pills into his hand and took a swig of water. As he sat with his head in his hands, he remembered being teased at Hazel's by Chris and PJ's friends. He remembered drinking. A lot. And he remembered leaving.

He also remembered running into Phil, sitting outside his apartment, and eating crackers at Phil's kitchen table.

 _Oh god,_ horror struck Dan.

 _Am I at Phil's house?_

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

Many thoughts were racing through Dan's aching head. He checked his pockets. He still had his wallet, but knew he had left his key to his apartment in his jacket at Hazel's. He knew Hazel would bring it to him on campus, or Chris would bring it home with him.

He also had his phone with him still. He checked his messages after seeing that he had several. They were from Chris.

 _Where are you_

 _Are you okay_

 _Are you mad at us_

 _You left your jacket at Hazel's_

 _Please tell me where you are_

Dan wrote a quick reply that read, _I'm fine. I think._

Dan looked around the room. If he really was at his professor's house, he would have to compliment him on his décor. All of his furniture was made of dark, lacquer finished wood. There was a large, six-drawer dresser on the wall to Dan's right and on the wall behind him there was a tall house plant and a door to the restroom. Across from him, there was a door that must've led to the rest of Phil's house.

Dan stood up from the bed and approached the door. His heart raced. This was so surreal to him.

He twisted the knob on the door, and peeked out to see a short hall way. The smell of frying eggs filled his nose. Phil must've been cooking. He pulled the door open further and crept out into the hall. The hall opened up to the kitchen where he saw Phil standing over a stove with one hand braced on the counter and a spatula in the other hand. He was wearing a purple t-shirt and black jeans. It was odd to see him out of slacks and a button up. He looked younger.

Dan gulped.

Dan considered trying to sneak out of the house, but he knew Phil would probably catch him.

Phil turned then, and looked right at him. Dan froze like a deer in headlights.

"Hey," Phil said. "You're awake."

Dan didn't say anything.

"Come sit down. I'll make you an egg and some toast," Phil gestured for him to come into the kitchen.

Phil turned back to the stove and Dan walked passed him to find the dining table.

"How're you feeling?" Phil asked him.

"Uh, I'm okay," Dan said as he sat down.

Phil appeared to be completely at ease with having Dan in his own home, which was odd to Dan. But perhaps he was trying to put Dan at ease.

"No headache?" Phil asked him.

"Yeah, but I'm okay."

"You took some medicine right?" Phil asked as two slices of toast popped up out of the toaster.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Phil buttered the toast on a paper plate and the put the cooked egg on one slice. He took the plate to Dan and placed it in front of him.

"Eat," Phil said.

Phil cracked another egg into the pan on the stove and a few minutes later joined Dan with his own egg sandwich.

"Good?" Phil asked him

"Yes, thank you," Dan said.

"Good."

They ate in silence. Dan finished eating. He didn't know what to say.

Phil finished eating and took both of their plates from the table to throw them away.

"I imagine you're a little bit confused," Phil said as he walked across the kitchen and sat down at the table again.

"Uhm, just a little bit," Dan admitted. "I remember some stuff. But why exactly am I here?"

Dan asked "why" and not "how", Phil noticed.

"I didn't want to leave you alone outside your apartment. I found you wobbling down the street," Phil said.

"Well, thanks," Dan said. "Uhm, just so you know, I don't normally drink like that. I don't normally drink, like, ever, really."

Phil grinned and said, "Don't worry. I've had my fair share of, uh, experiences."

"Oh."

Phil didn't say anything for a long moment. Until, "Dan, it would be irresponsible of me if I didn't address a few things."

Dread sunk into Dan's bones. He said, "What things?"

"Well, for starters. I'm not sure you remember some of the things you said last night."

"Oh god," Dan said quietly. Heat rose to his cheeks. "What did I say?"

"Well, apparently you feel like I treat you like a baby," Phil began.

"Okay," Dan said. He didn't deny that. He did feel that way at times.

"And, uh," Phil became very unstill. He adjusted his hair, and then his glasses. He finally said quietly, "You called me handsome. And perfect."

Dan was sure he was as red as a tomato at that point.

"I-, I did?" Dan squeaked.

"Yes," Phil said. "Look Dan, I care very much about you. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. But, I've broken a lot of rules by bringing you here last night. Like, I could lose my job. So I can't tell anyone that you were here. And I would prefer it if you didn't tell anyone that you were here. But I imagine your friends were worried about you. So only tell those you absolutely trust."

"I understand," Dan said.

Phil said, "I'm not scolding you, Dan. It's just-," he sighed and leaned forward as if there was a chance of being overheard in his own home. "I like you. But I don't want to see you getting in trouble."

"I don't want you getting in trouble, either," Dan said with a small smile. His heart was soaring from Phil's confession.

"Okay," Phil said with a deep breath. "So we're on the same page."

"Yeah," Dan said.

They sat quietly for a few moments.

"Your house is nice, Phil," Dan spoke up.

"Oh, thank you," Phil grinned. He then said, "Well, I better get you home."

"You're probably right," Dan agreed, but didn't voice that he'd much rather stay here, with Phil.

Phil stood up from the dining table and went into the living area where he put on his shoes. He returned to the kitchen where he collected his wallet and keys. To Dan, he said, "Let's go ahead and go. We don't want to push our luck anymore."

"Yeah," Dan said, and stood.

As Dan followed Phil, he said, "By the way, I like your shirt."

"Thanks," Phil glanced back. He led Dan out of the house and locked the door behind them. As he did this, he said, "I like yours."

"Thanks," Dan said.

Phil opened the passenger side door of his car for Dan and then went around to his side.

Phil climbed in, started the car, and pulled out of his driveway. He drove slightly slower than necessary in order to spend more time with Dan. Despite his efforts it didn't take long to arrive at Dan's apartment building.

Phil pulled over to the side of the road and the put the car in park.

"Thank you," Dan said. "For everything."

"You're welcome," Phil replied.

They held their gaze for a long moment. Dan wondered what it would feel like to have Phil's lips against his own.

"You better get inside," Phil said.

"Yeah," Dan said.

Another moment passed before Dan finally reached for the door handle.

"I'll see you in class," Phil said.

"See you," Dan replied.

Dan climbed out of the car, bent over to wave at Phil, who shot him a small smile. Dan turned away and went up to his apartment.

* * *

"Oh my god. Where were you?" Chris demanded to know when Dan walked into the kitchen.

"Uhm, you won't believe me," Dan said as Chris poured hot water from the kettle into a mug.

"Try me," Chris said.

"Well, when I was walking home from Hazel's, I ran into Phil," Dan took a mug from cupboard to make himself a cup of coffee

"You mean Mr. Lester?" Chris asked.

"Yeah," Dan said.

"Wait, you guys didn't-, did you?"

"Oh, no," Dan said, shaking his head. "He just didn't want me left alone. I couldn't get inside because I left my key in my jacket."

"Oh, I put your jacket in your room, by the way," Chris said.

"Thanks."

"So, what happened?"

"Well, when I woke up I couldn't remember everything clearly, but I realized I was probably at his house," Dan began.

Chris gestured for them to sit down on the couch and Dan followed. Dan went through everything that had happened that morning as they drank from their mugs.

"That's crazy, man," Chris said. "Good to know you were safe, though. We were all pretty worried about you."

"Yeah," Dan said. "You can't tell anyone though. That I was at Phil's. If it got out he could lose his job, you know."

"Okay," Chris said. "I won't tell anyone. Except PJ. Or you can tell him yourself."

"It's fine. You can tell him if you want," Dan said. "Make sure he knows not to tell anyone, though."

"Okay," Chris said.

Dan got up from the couch to put his mug in the sink. Chris followed him to do the same.

* * *

The next morning Dan was hoping to see Phil in the coffee shop he worked at, but he never showed. However, he wasn't too disappointed, because he knew he would be seeing him the next day in class.

Monday morning rolled around and when Dan awoke he was, oddly, looking forward to going to his classes. He was going to be able to see Phil.

Dan arrived outside the classroom before the room was unlocked by Phil. A few of his classmates also waited outside the room for their professor to arrive. Dan gazed down the long hallway, watching for Phil. When he appeared around the corner, Dan dropped his eyes to his phone.

He glanced up as Phil approached the classroom. He looked as handsome as ever. He unlocked the classroom door and held it open for the students. Everyone filed in one by one and Dan trailed after them in the back. A few of the students greeted Phil and he said, "Good morning," back to them in his normal, cheerful tone.

"Good morning," Phil said to Dan as he approached the doorway.

Surprised, Dan said, "Morning," back to him.

He found his usual spot in the back of the classroom and sat with his chin resting in his hands.

"How are you guys?" Phil asked the class.

Dan knew it was a general question, but Phil's gaze rested on him for just a moment longer than his classmates. He glanced away. A few students replied as the rest of the class filed in, bit by bit.

Phil began the class once everyone had arrived. He lectured the students, occasionally asking questions and beginning discussions. He also assigned a new paper to the students based off their discussions from that day.

When class ended Dan slowly packed up his things so that he was the last person remaining in the classroom. Phil was sat at his computer by the time Dan stood and walked towards the exit. He had no idea what to say to his professor, but if Phil wanted to speak to him, he was being given the opportunity.

"Hey," Phil said to him.

Dan stopped before exiting the classroom and turned around.

"Yes, professor?" Dan asked.

"How was the rest of your weekend?" Phil asked him from where he sat at his desk.

"It was good," Dan said. "I just hung out on Saturday, worked on a couple of assignments and I had work on Sunday."

"Okay, good," Phil said, nodding. Then he smiled and said, "Okay, I'll see you around then."

"See you around, professor."

* * *

hi thank you for reading please review and let me know what you thought

have an awesome day/week etc


	7. Chapter 7

Phil awoke early on Sunday morning. The first thing he thought of was Dan.

He rose from bed with a craving for hot coffee. More specifically, the coffee Dan had first picked out for him the first time he went into his coffee shop. So he dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweater from the college he had gone to before becoming a teacher. After he put his shoes on, he grabbed his laptop bag and left the house.

He drove through the city to downtown where the coffee shop was located. In contrast to the streets which were alive and awake, he felt tired. He found a place to park, grabbed his laptop bag from the passenger seat, then climbed out of the car. He went into the coffee shop and fell into line behind two other customers.

Phil eyed a small table and one chair that was still available to sit at. He hoped that by the time he made his order it wouldn't be taken.

When Phil was first in line, he was face to face with Dan.

"Hi, what can I get you?" Dan asked him. Half of his mouth was turned up in a smile.

Phil recited his order to Dan.

As Dan operated the computer, he asked, "Having a good weekend?"

Phil smiled and said, "Yeah, it's alright. And yours?"

"It's fine," Dan said and gave Phil the total. Phil handed Dan his card, who swiped it and returned it to him.

Phil moved off to the side to wait for his coffee to be made. It was ready within just a few minutes and with his coffee in hand, he claimed that small table and single chair. He set up his laptop, connected to the wi-fi and logged onto the school's website.

He glanced up as he waited for the website to load, noticing Dan looking his way. He glanced away again and had to force the corners of his mouth down.

Phil went on to grade the papers he had assigned at the beginning of the previous week.

"John, right?"

Phil looked up to see Dan talking with another customer.

"Yeah," the man said with a wide smile. "How've you been?"

"Good," Dan said, then laughed at something this man called John had said.

Phil sighed.

* * *

Dan took down John's phone number with a slip of paper from the receipt printer. They had met at Hazel's on Halloween weekend.

After he had put John's order in and collected the cash payment he glanced over and saw that Phil had left. He frowned, but moved on to the customer who had just walked into the shop.

It occurred to Dan that Phil may have seen his entire exchange with John. He shrugged internally.

Before John left with his coffee, he promised to text Dan.

"Alright, later," Dan said with a smile.

"Later."

As promised, John did text him later that day. They talked well into the evening. They clicked easily and there was hardly a single dull exchange as they talked. They continued to talk throughout the week as well.

But at the end of each night, and the beginning of each day, it was Phil he thought of.

However, nothing could be done about that so he agreed to go out with John when John invited him to see a movie. They agreed to meet at the cinema on Friday evening. Dan took the bus and walked partway.

The cinema was attached to the downtown mall, so he cut through the shops to reach the cinema. John was waiting right where he said he would be.

Upon seeing Dan he smiled widely.

Dan grinned back as he approached him.

"Hey," John said to him.

"Hey," Dan replied.

"Let's go ahead and get our tickets," John suggested and Dan agreed.

A few minutes later they were in the right theatre, sitting through the previews. They chatted quietly.

They had many similar interests, so they always talked easily. When the movie began they quieted down and focused on the movie.

After the movie, John walked Dan to the bus stop. He had a different bus to get on, but Dan's was arriving before his.

"Well, that was really fun," Dan said to John when he saw his bus approaching the stop.

"Yeah, it was," he agreed.

The bus stopped just ahead of them.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later, then," Dan said to John.

Before Dan turned, John leaned in. Dan froze where he stood. John pressed his lips to Dan's cheek.

"Talk to you later," John said.

Dan turned away, his cheeks growing very warm very quickly. He got onto the bus and found a seat near the back.

* * *

"But what about Phil," Chris asked Dan later that night when Dan returned to their flat.

"What do you mean, "what about Phil?"" Dan said.

"Well, you like Phil. Not John, right?"

"I like John," Dan said. "We get along really well. And I wouldn't have gone out with him if I didn't like him."

"Yeah, I know. But-."

"But nothing," Dan said. "There is no way it could ever work out with Phil, let alone even start."

"But I ship it so hard," Chris said with a wide smile.

Dan sighed.

"And you never know. When you're no longer his student, there's nothing that'll be in the way, right?"

"I guess. But still, you know," Dan said.

"Not really. But whatever," Chris said.

Dan frowned and got up from the couch to retreat to his bedroom. There, he dived into a book he'd recently checked out from the library. A book about neat and tidy plots, and happy endings. He eventually put his book aside and slept.

* * *

Over the next week Dan went through the motions of going to work and school. He and Phil shared pleasantries before and after class and in the coffee shop but it never went much further than that.

During the week after that, Dan discovered that John had a similar class schedule to his. They were both on campus on Mondays and Wednesdays. So John began joining Dan, Chris, and PJ for lunch much to the dismay of Chris and PJ.

"He's boring," Chris said to Dan one day.

"He is not. We talk constantly," Dan said.

However, John was approaching their table so Dan made room for him.

* * *

Phil left his empty classroom just a few minutes after everyone cleared out. He was dying for something good to eat, rather than just micro waved leftovers. He walked down the halls and down a flight of stairs into the cafeteria.

He passed tables full of students, but then a group of four caught his eye. There was Dan, sitting with his friends, but also with the man called John from the day he had gone into the coffee shop.

His jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw that John had his hand over Dan's. Dan looked up and slipped his hand out from underneath John's when he saw that Phil was looking his way. With his teeth gritted he got into line to pick out something to eat.

Phil rolled his eyes at himself internally. It was completely inappropriate to feel so angry that Dan was getting into a relationship with someone. He had no attachments to Dan, no claim over Dan.

 _He's your student for crying out loud,_ he told himself.

* * *

Chris, Pj, and Dan had all seen that Phil walked passed their table.

Chris looked between John and Phil, noticing a few slight similarities. John and Phil both had black hair, blue eyes, and wore glasses. That couldn't be a coincidence, he thought.

When Chris brought this up to Dan that night in their flat Dan said, "I guess I have a type."

"You mean it's not just because he looks like Phil," Chris said with a look in his eye.

"Of course not. They didn't even look that alike," Dan said defensively.

"I'm only teasing," Chris said with his hands up.

Dan didn't reply and fell into silence for the rest of the night.

* * *

It began to snow as the next week began. Dan couldn't put it off any longer. He bought new shoes.

Phil noticed on Monday after class.

"You got new shoes," he said to Dan from where he stood with the whiteboard to his back.

"I had to," Dan replied with a shrug.

Phil wrung his hands as he stood. Dan waited for him to speak. He pushed his glasses up his nose and then slipped his hands into his pockets.

Phil said, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"I don't think that's appro-,"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Why does it matter?" Dan asked, becoming defensive.

"I want to know," Phil said.

"Well, it's not official yet, but yeah, I'm seeing someone," Dan answered. He asked again, "Why does it matter?"

Phil said, "Because-," and sighed.

"Are you jealous?" Dan asked quietly.

Phil walked passed Dan to sit at the front desk.

"Yeah, I am," he admitted.

"Well, don't be," Dan said softly. "He's-, he's not you."

Phil looked up at Dan for a long moment. Dan thought that maybe if they weren't bound from each other they would have kissed in that moment.

"I better go," Dan said.

"Yeah," Phil agreed and turned to the computer in front of him.

Dan left the classroom and headed for the cafeteria.

* * *

hi sorry that this chapter is a bit short, but i wasn't sure where to go next

i mean i know whats gonna happen next in the story but its best to leave it for the next chapter probs

anyways please review and let me know what you thought i rlly appreciate the feedback

okay have an awesome week


	8. Chapter 8

im so excited for you guys to read this one

* * *

Dan returned to his classes on Wednesday. He arrived early to Phil's class, although the door was unlocked and Phil was sitting at his computer desk.

There were a few other students who had arrived early as well, but Phil still said, "Hey," to Dan as he walked passed him.

"Hey," Dan replied.

He found a seat at the back of the class and settled in. He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through tumblr for a few moments.

He glanced up and found Phil gazing at him from where he sat in front of his computer. Dan looked back at him for a long moment as he felt a sudden tightening of his chest. He tore his eyes away from Phil's and refocused on his phone with a sigh.

More students began to fill the classroom and Dan knew Phil would soon be starting the class, so he put his phone back into his pocket and turned his attention forward.

As soon as the class was full, Phil began his lecture for the day. Dan listened along and they occasionally met with eye contact.

When Phil ended his lecture and set a new assignment, he dismissed the class. Dan slowly packed his things up to ensure that he would be the last person in the class. He slung his bag over his shoulder once he had his things packed and walked towards the front of the classroom where Phil was sitting at his desk.

Phil leaned back in his chair and looked at Dan with a small smile.

Dan returned the small smile.

Phil asked, "How are you?"

"I'm okay."

They fell into an easy conversation, which was a stark, but nice contrast to their previous conversation. Before they realized it, they had been talking for a few long minutes.

Dan stopped mid-laugh when someone walked into the classroom. They were a brunette woman, who appeared to be another professor.

She looked between Dan and Phil.

Phil cleared his throat, tilted his desk chair forward, and said, "Oh, Mary."

Dan gulped as this woman turned her eyes from him to Phil.

"I just came to remind you of the meeting today," she said to Phil.

"Okay, thank you," Phil said.

"I'll see you there, then," she said. She paused, looking between the two men again, then turned and walked out of the room.

Phil leaned back in his chair, and let out a breath as he looked at Dan.

"Erm," Dan began.

"It might be better if we talk somewhere else," Phil said.

"Yeah," Dan agreed.

Phil named a restaurant and asked Dan if he knew where it was.

"No, but I'm sure I can find it," Dan said.

"Would you like to meet there? On… Friday at seven?" Phil asked him.

Dan let out a breath as it occurred to him that Phil was asking him on a date.

"Are you sure we should, you know-," Dan said.

Phil said the restaurant was in the next town over. "It should be fine," he said.

"Okay," Dan said.

"So you'll be there?" Phil asked.

"Erm," Dan said. "Yeah."

"Okay, see you then."

"See you."

Dan reluctantly left the classroom and headed for the cafeteria where Chris, PJ and most likely, John, would be. When he arrived at the cafeteria he found the three of them at a table. Chris and PJ had a tray of food, while John did not. When Dan approached John stood and said, "Hey I was waiting for you before I got lunch."

"Oh, thanks," Dan replied absentmindedly. His conversation with Phil continued to run through his mind.

Chris and PJ looked between each other and then at Dan. The suspicion was clear on their faces. They were wondering why it took so long for Dan to make it to the cafeteria.

"Let's go get some food, then," Dan said and John followed him to the queues.

As they waited in line, slowly moving forward, John asked, "You wanna do something this weekend?"

"Er, sure. I'm free on Saturday," Dan replied.

"Okay, cool. I'll text you on Saturday then and we'll figure something out."

Dan frowned as they moved forward in line. When they collected their lunch, they returned to the table where Chris and PJ were. They were nearly done with their own food so when Dan and John got through a few bites, Chris and PJ began to pack their things up.

"Oh, I'm staying at PJ's tonight, okay?" Chris said after throwing out his trash.

"Okay, but call me or something, okay?" Dan replied.

"Okay," Chris said with his eyebrows knitted slightly. "Talk to you later."

"Later," Dan agreed.

Dan ate his lunch with John, avoiding his eye.

"Are you okay?" John asked him when Dan realized he was eating his lunch furiously fast.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Dan said with a dismissive gesture.

Dan didn't look at John, but knew he would probably be making the raised eyebrow face Dan began to notice that he often made.

They didn't talk like they normally did as they ate.

Dan was done eating before John and quickly excused himself to go the library before heading home for the afternoon.

* * *

When Dan returned to his and Chris' flat, he started on his assignments, but constantly checked his phone for Chris' call.

When his phone finally rang, he scrambled to answer it. He got up from the couch where he sat.

"Hey," he answered.

"Hey, you wanted me to call?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I gotta tell you something…" Dan began, and went through the conversation he had with Phil as he paced the flat. He included their interruption and Phil's invitation to meet with him on Friday.

Chris chimed in with the occasional, appropriate, "No shit!"

"Yeah," Dan would reply and quickly continue.

Chris would occasionally update PJ on what Dan said as well, who Dan could hear, although distantly, had similar reactions to Chris'.

"So what are you gonna do?" Chris asked when Dan finished his story. "You're going right?"

"Well, yeah," Dan said. As if he would ever skip the opportunity of getting to spend time with Phil.

"You guys have to be careful," Chris reminded him.

"I know," Dan agreed, frowning, recalling the suspicious look on the other professor's face. "But this restaurant is out of town, so it's less likely we'll be seen by anyone."

"Okay," Chris said slowly. "I'd hate for you guys to get in trouble."

"I know," Dan said again.

"Anyways, I gotta go," Chris said.

"Okay, see you later."

"Later."

Dan hung up and sighed. He returned to his assignments and when he completed one and made some headway into Phil's assigned paper, he put his things away. He turned to his laptop and found the right bus route to get to the restaurant Phil wanted to meet him at. He had two days to prepare, but he was a worrier.

* * *

No matter how long he had to prepare, however, he would always be nervous around Phil.

On Friday, Dan dressed in his favorite black jeans, a navy blue sweater, and grabbed his coat from the hall closet.

"Have fun. Be careful," Chris said to Dan.

"I will," Dan said.

He left the flat and walked a block to the bus stop. He had to switch buses about halfway through the trip. When he got off the bus in the next town over he had to walk for five minutes to the restaurant.

Before entering the restaurant, he took a deep breath and pulled the entrance door open with trembling hands. The restaurant was very busy, but he found Phil sitting off to the side, waiting to be seated, with his own coat sitting next to him on the bench. Dan took off his own coat as he approached Phil, smiling nervously.

Phil looked up from his phone and a smile spread across his face. He stood, said, "Hey," and pulled Dan into a hug, which sent Dan's heart racing. He could feel every muscle of his chest against his own and his large hands against his back.

"Hey," Dan breathed out when Phil released him.

"I think it'll just be a few minutes," Phil said, referring to the wait for seating.

"Okay," Dan said.

He looked around the restaurant, suddenly feeling slightly underdressed. The lighting was gentle and reflected off a dark, stone floor. The host's podium was made of solid wood with a dark finish, and so were the booths. The booth seats were made of dark leather.

Phil wore a button up with a nice pair of jeans.

"This place is nice," Dan said.

"Yeah. I was hoping you'd like it."

"I probably can't afford this, though," he said.

"I'm paying," Phil told him.

"Are you sure?" Dan looked at him, deadpan.

"Yeah. Of course," Phil said. "I never spend money on anyone."

"Okay," Dan said, but knew he would be looking for one of the less expensive menu items.

They waited patiently, and as Phil said, they were brought to a booth in just a few minutes. They were left with their menus and the small, brunette hostess said their waitress would be with them.

"Get anything you want," Phil told him.

"Okay," Dan said, but looked at the prices with wide eyes before he even looked at what was included with each meal.

As Dan looked over everything, they were approached by their waitress, who was a tall, blonde woman. This woman introduced herself and asked what they wanted to start with.

"Water is fine for me," Dan said then looked to Phil, who ordered the same thing.

Everything described on the menu sounded amazing, despite the price, so Dan had no problem choosing a less expensive menu item. When he made his decision he put his menu aside and looked at Phil. Phil looked up and smiled as he put his menu aside as well.

Phil put his hands together on the table, while Dan rested his arms on the table and leaned forward slightly. Phil gazed at Dan gently under the soft lighting of the restaurant. Dan smiled, looked away, and nervously adjusted his fringe.

Their waitress approached them again and laid their water down on the table.

"Are you guys ready to order?" She asked.

"Yeah," Phil said and looked to Dan.

"Oh," Dan said, and gave the waitress his order.

Phil ordered as well.

The waitress thanked them, took their menus, and left them with their water.

"So," Phil said, putting his hands back onto the table and leaning forward.

"So," Dan echoed him.

"Have you had a good week?" Phil asked and they began chatting.

It was a simple conversation, and yet the energy that passed between them was warm and soothing. Dan thought that perhaps the lighting made him feel this way.

Their food came with salad, which was brought to them within a few minutes. As they ate they continued to talk.

"So," Dan began as he finished his last bit of salad. "When did you decide to become a teacher?"

"Well, growing up, I had great teachers that inspired me and helped me. I just thought, I want to do that for someone. But I knew I didn't want to teach teenagers, so I decided on being a college professor," Phil explained. "What about you? What do you want to be?"

"I want to be a writer," Dan said with a smile, feeling as if it was somewhat of a confession.

"That's brilliant," Phil said. "I'm sure you'd make an amazing writer!"

"You think so?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, I've read all your papers," Phil reminded him.

"Oh, yeah," Dan said.

"So what genre would you want to write?"

"Erm, all kinds," Dan said. "Mainly fantasy or science fiction though. With a little bit of romance maybe."

"That's awesome," Phil said. "Have you written anything already?"

"No, I haven't had any ideas that I've worked on yet."

"That you've worked on? So you have ideas?"

"Well, yeah," Dan admitted. "But I don't really have time for writing right now. I just can't wait until my creative writing class next year."

"You'll do great in creative writing, I'm sure," Phil said.

Their waitress approached their table again, carrying a tray of food. She laid down their main course, took their salad bowls, and said, "Enjoy, guys!"

They thanked her and began to eat.

"So can I hear about your ideas?" Phil asked eagerly, before taking a bite of food.

As if he were highly offended, Dan said, "No!"

"Aw, why not?" Phil asked.

"Because. They're probably bad ideas, anyways," he said.

"I'm sure they're not," Phil argued.

"I'm sure they are," Dan retorted.

"Okay, fine," Phil said. "But whatever they are, I know they're probably gonna be amazing."

They continued to talk as they ate.

About halfway through their food, the waitress stopped by and asked how everything was.

"Oh, it's great, thank you," Phil said.

When Dan was almost done with his plate of food, he asked Phil, "We get a small dessert, right?"

"Yeah, I think it's like a small brownie with a bit of ice cream."

"Awesome," Dan said.

"Yeah," Phil agreed.

"I'm so full I don't think I could even eat dessert, though," Dan said, when he finished his last bite of food and laid his fork on his plate. "I'll have like a bite, if anything."

Phil laughed and put his fork down as well. They both push their plates forward slightly and their waitress soon stopped by their table to drop of their dessert and collect their dinner plates. She refilled their water as well with a pitcher of water.

Dan took a sip of his water, before he took a small bit of brownie and ice cream.

"This is amazing," he said to Phil.

"Yeah, it is," Phil agreed, who finished his dessert while Dan only had three small bites.

When they were done they pushed those bowls away from them as well and continued to talk.

Their waitress went by their table again to drop off their bill inside a small black book.

Dan reached for the bill, but Phil pulled it out from beneath Dan's hand, keeping him from seeing the cost of their meal.

"Ah, ah, ah," Phil said. "I told you, I'm paying."

Dan gulped, because Phil's teasing sent his mind straight to the gutter. He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling dry at the mouth. He couldn't help but picture Phil using that soft, scolding tone in an entirely different scenario.

 _Damn it,_ he thought to himself. He managed to go until the end of the meal without a dirty thought about Phil.

Phil seemed completely oblivious to Dan's sudden shift in mood as he filled out the receipt and slipped his card into the pocket of the black book.

When Phil looked up again, he asked Dan, "Are you okay?"

Dan cleared his throat again and said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

The waitress passed their table again to grab the black book and thanked them. She returned just a few minutes later to return Phil's card to him. She thanked them again and told them to have a good night.

They stood and walked towards the entrance of the restaurant.

"So did you take the bus here?" Phil asked Dan when they were outside.

"Yeah," Dan answered.

"I'll give you a ride home," He offered.

"Oh, you don't have to," Dan said, waving his hands in a dismissive way.

"No, I insist. I've taken the bus before, I know it sucks. Plus, I want to spend more time with you," Phil admitted.

"Well, I can't argue with that reasoning," Dan said, earning a laugh from Phil.

Phil's laughter was deep and throaty, which sent Dan's mind further into the gutter. Sexy was an odd way to describe laughter, Dan realized, but everything about Phil was sexy.

Still smiling, Phil casually took hold of Dan's hand and said, "C'mon then."

Dan's heart fluttered. He was a mess of emotions at that moment.

When they approached Phil's silver car, he unlocked it. Dan breathed a sigh of relief. He could relax in Phil's car. Phil opened the passenger door for him, so he climbed in and Phil went around to the other side.

As Phil started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, Dan realized how much he enjoyed riding along with Phil. He always felt safe in Phil's car, where no one from the outside world could interrupt, scrutinize, or judge them.

They continued to talk as Phil drove back into the city and towards Dan's building.

Their time together was up before Dan could thoroughly enjoy it. Phil pulled into a space beside the pavement near the apartment building.

They continued to talk for several minutes, before Dan gazed out the window. He said, "I better get inside."

He turned back to Phil, who was leaning much closer to Dan than he was in the previous moment.

Dan gulped and scanned Phil's face.

"Phil-."

"I really want to kiss you," Phil admitted softly. "But I don't think I'd be able to stop if I did."

Dan leaned away slightly. They were really pushing things.

"Thank you for buying me dinner," Dan said, with a hand on the door handle.

"Thank you for meeting me there," Phil said in agreement.

They paused, gazed at one another for a moment before Phil leaned away, looked forward and said with a gesture, "Okay you better get inside."

"Goodnight, Phil," Dan said, and reluctantly climbed out of the car.

* * *

im so excited to hear what ppl think of this one

pls let me know what you think ina review!

okay have a lovely day


	9. Chapter 9

_im being so productive today its weird_

 _i hope you guys enjoy_

* * *

Dan awoke on Saturday morning and for a moment wondered if the previous night was a dream. However, it couldn't have been. Because the clothes he had worn when we went to see Phil were still on the floor from when he had changed into pajamas.

Dan checked the time and saw that it was still rather early, so he lay back down and shut his eyes.

 _"How did it go?" Chris asked Dan when he had walked into the flat the previous night._

 _"It was great," Dan said with a smile._

 _Chris grinned in response, but still asked, "You didn't see anyone from school or anything?"_

 _"No," Dan said with a shake of his head. "Everything was fine."_

 _"Good," Chris said, seeming to be relieved._

 _"Yeah," Dan said in agreement and had gone to his bedroom for the night._

Dan returned to sleep and awoke a few hours later feeling much more rested. He rolled over to check his phone. He had texts from John, asking him if he wanted to meet at the mall.

His reply was, _sure when?_

Dan climbed out of bed and into clothes for the day. When he was fully dressed, he had gotten a reply from John, which was, _1?_

 _Okay that sounds good,_ Dan replied. It currently was eleven am, which gave him time to make himself coffee and work on the paper Phil had assigned for about an hour. After he was satisfied with the amount of work he put into it, he checked the bus routes online, fixed his hair, then left to catch the next bus.

With his coat wrapped tightly around him, he walked to the bus stop. The bus arrived just a few minutes later. He climbed on and managed to find a spot to sit. As he rode along, he checked his phone. John suggested meeting at a yogurt shop in the food court and Dan agreed and added that he was on his way.

 _Great I'll see you soon_ , was John's reply a few moments later.

Dan put his headphones into his ears and started one of his playlists to listen to music. He had to change buses once, but the second bus took a much shorter trip to the mall. When he arrived at his stop, he climbed off the bus and walked through the parking lot, passed a parking structure, and towards the entrance of the mall.

Just inside the building there was a map where he found the location of the yogurt shop John named. After he studied the map for a few moments, he followed the most direct path to the yogurt shop where he found John sitting at a small, round table with colorful chairs.

He grinned and John smiled back when he saw Dan approaching. He stood, always polite, and greeted Dan with a hug and a squeeze of the hand.

"So you wanna get something?" John asked. "We can share one."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Dan agreed.

The yogurt shop was self-serve, so they collected a cardboard bowl and agreed to pick one flavor of yogurt each. Dan went with fruity, while John went with sweet. They both picked out toppings as well and ended up with a bowl of toppings and some yogurt.

"Maybe we should get some yogurt with this?" Dan said before they placed their bowl down to be weighed.

John laughed and asked the cashier for a second spoon as he got his wallet out.

"Oh!" Dan said. He put a hand out to push John's wallet away.

"I'll pay this time," Dan said, he got his own wallet out and passed his card to the cashier.

"Are you sure?" John asked.

"Yeah, of course," he insisted.

"Okay, thank you, Dan," John said as Dan's card was being returned to him.

After their transaction was complete they found a table to sit at and both slowly ate together.

"Okay, I didn't think this was going to be very good with all the different flavors, but it's delicious," John said in between his first few bites.

"It is," Dan agreed.

They chatted as they ate and when they were done they binned the cardboard bowl and spoons. Hand in hand, they walked through the mall, pointing things out to each other from store windows and browsing a few shops. At one point, they sat on a bench together to people watch and continue chatting.

"So, I wanted to ask you something," John began after a quiet moment.

"Okay," Dan said. He continued to restlessly scroll through tumblr without really processing the implications of John's question.

"Dan," John said.

Dan looked up and took in the serious look on John's face. With an apologetic look he put his phone into his pocket. Wanted to make up for it, Dan listened carefully as John began to speak.

"I wanted to know," John paused nervously and licked his lips. "If you'd like to be my boyfriend."

Dan hesitated, unsure. He liked John and John liked him. It was simple. And Dan liked that. However, he also thought of his near-kiss with Phil. He thought of how unfair it was to John, to date him while his heart truly belonged to Phil.

But realistically, he couldn't have Phil. Realistically, it wouldn't work out with Phil. He and Phil had all the factors for a disaster waiting to happen.

What if he was attracted to Phil simply because he couldn't have him? What if, upon getting together with Phil, he became immediately bored. What if his love for Phil wasn't true after all?

So he gave John a chance and said, "Yes, I would really like that."

He felt John let out a relieved breath. Dan took his hand, prompting John to look up with a smile.

Dan leaned in to kiss him on the mouth. They were having their first kiss between each other and Dan was praying that he was making the right decision. When John leaned away from the kiss he smiled at Dan and let out a small laugh. Dan grinned back with warm cheeks.

A few minutes later, they rose from their bench and returned to walking through the mall.

When they exhausted their interest in the mall, and their energy to walk, they walked to the bus stop together. They took the first bus together, but needed to take separate second buses. John waited with Dan, as Dan's bus was arriving before his own.

When Dan's bus arrived at their stop, they hugged and went their separate ways.

When he returned to the flat, Chris had woken up and was sitting on the couch with a mug of something hot.

"Hey, where were you?" Chris asked him.

"With my new boyfriend," Dan said with a smile.

"Wait, Phil?" Chris asked.

"No," Dan shook his head as he stood by the end of the couch. "John."

"John?" Chris said with a look of utter confusion.

"Yeah," Dan confirmed.

"Why John?" Chris asked in the same tone as before.

"Because he asked me to his boyfriend. And I like him. So I said yes," Dan said as if it should've been as obvious as the sky was blue.

"But, what about Phil?" Chris asked.

"But nothing," Dan said. "Phil and I could never work out. Just think about it," Dan tried to reason with Chris.

"I mean, isn't a little unfair to them both, though?"

"Maybe. John is my boyfriend now, though. So I plan to treat him accordingly," Dan said.

"Well, I don't doubt whether or not you'd be a good boyfriend. But it seems like Phil likes you too," Chris said.

"I know," Dan said. "But like I said, it wouldn't work out. What if, hypothetically, we got together and suddenly didn't even like each other anymore. With this sneaking around, who's to say we even know each other," Dan said, putting his hands out in a wide gesture.

"I guess that's true," Chris conceded in agreement.

"Yeah, so. That's why I'm with John. And I like John. He likes me. Nothing could go wrong," Dan said.

"Okay," Chris said, but his tone remained worried.

Dan returned to his bedroom for the afternoon and completed the paper Phil had assigned. Chris cooked dinner that night for himself and Dan and they ate on the couch with an episode of a new Netflix show playing.

* * *

On Monday morning, Dan waited outside Phil's classroom for Phil to arrive and let the students inside.

He scrolled through his tumblr dashboard, occasionally reblogging a particularly funny meme or an aesthetically pleasing image, as he waited for Phil with a few other students. When there was a shift in the few students waiting, Dan looked up and saw that Phil had just turned the corner and was heading towards their classroom.

Dan wasn't one to be dramatic, but for some reason that day, it was as if someone had called, "Lights. Camera. Action!" before Phil turned the corner and played the sexiest, most suggestive music they could find for Phil to walk to.

Dan nearly groaned aloud to himself. However, he felt as though this confirmed his suspicions. He only wanted Phil because he couldn't have him. And agreeing to be John's boyfriend that weekend solidified that suspicion.

Despite this, almost out of habit, Dan still lingered behind in the classroom, slowly packing his things up.

"Hey," Phil said to Dan as he attempted to walk passed him.

"Hey," Dan said hesitantly. His hands shook more than they ever had in Phil's presence. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and fiddled with his phone.

"Did you have a good weekend?" Phil asked.

"Yeah. It was alright," Dan answered.

"Good," Phil said.

It didn't occur to Dan to ask how Phil was before Phil reached over for a sticky note and a pen and quickly scrawled something across it.

"Here," Phil said, holding the sticky note out to Dan. "Just call or text me sometime. So we can talk more." He added, "If you want."

Dan took the sticky note and said, "Okay," despite his resolve to begin distancing himself from his professor.

"Have a good rest of the day," Phil said.

"You too, Phil," Dan said and thought he ought to have called him 'professor' rather than 'Phil'. However, he still made sure not to lose Phil's number that day.

"Thank you," Dan added before leaving the classroom and heading for the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria he found John, Chris, and PJ sitting at a small table. John once again was politely waiting for Dan before getting his own tray of food, so the two of them got into line together.

"I really appreciate that, by the way," Dan said as they slowly moved closer to get a burger.

"What?" John asked.

"Waiting for me," Dan answered.

"Oh," John said. "It's just the nice thing to do."

Dan thanked him despite that and John replied with, "You're welcome."

Dan smiled at John and gave the hand he was holding a gentle squeeze. John smiled back to him.

They ate together, while Chris and PJ went their separate way when they were done eating.

"I feel like they don't like me," John confessed as Chris and PJ walked away from them.

"They'll warm up to you," Dan reassured him.

"I hope so," John said.

"They will."

They continued eating and when they were done they went to the library together as Dan needed to return a book and pick out a new one. They walked hand in hand, but in the library spent time on their own to find something to read. They each picked out a recommendation the other had.

After they checked out their books they went their separate ways for the day and agreed to talk or text the next day.

That evening Dan cooked for himself, Chris, and PJ, who joined them for dinner. They ate Dan's family recipe contentedly as they watched Netflix.

It was like old times, Dan thought to himself. Except for that small slip of paper that burned a hole in his back pocket until he dialed the digits on it into his phone and wrote, _Hi phil._

* * *

 _pls let me know what you think in a review i would rlly appreciate it makes me happy_

 _thanks in advance for any reviews and thank you for reading_

 _have a good day_


	10. Chapter 10

_okay first off, i'm sorry its been so long_

 _also second off(lol), dnt hate me bc theres a lot of focus on john in this chapter but i think its necessary okay its gonna be okay_

* * *

That evening, Phil replied with, _This is?_

 _It's dan,_ was Dan's response.

 _Oh hey how are you?_ Phil sent him, and they began chatting throughout the evening.

"Who are you texting?" Chris asked Dan teasingly when Dan had moved into the chair off to the side.

"Uhm, no one," Dan said, glancing up from his phone.

"It's Phil, isn't it?" Chris asked, deadpan. "What happened to "John's my boyfriends now meh meh meh?""

"I'm allowed to talk to people other than John," Dan argued.

"I guess, but only if your intentions are purely innocent," Chris said.

PJ was watching the exchange, looking between Chris and Dan. He appeared to be siding with Chris, but did not say anything.

Dan couldn't say whether his intentions were purely innocent, but he could say he didn't intend on cheating on John. He was now in a relationship with John and didn't want to betray his trust. It was the decision he made, it would make no sense for him to go against his own decision.

"I'm not about to cheat on John," he said.

"I didn't say you were," Chris said. "Just-, be careful."

"I know," Dan said.

Dan talked with Phil well into the night. He could say that it was possible he didn't truly know Phil, but he found himself diving into deeper topics than any he had with John. He had plenty in common with John, but that seemed to be the limit to their connection.

He learned that he had a lot in common with Phil as well. Their attraction to each other, included.

* * *

Over the week Dan continued to text Phil whenever he wasn't in class. They spoke over the phone as well. The evenings, when he would talk to Phil over the phone, became his favorite time of the day very quickly. Especially when he would sit up in bed, in his pajamas, with Phil's voice coming through the phone low and soft. He would fall asleep each night with Phil's voice echoing in his head, lulling him to sleep.

However, one night when he hung up with Phil, he saw he had a text from John that he missed while talking to Phil.

The text read: _Hey what are you up to?_

And Dan couldn't respond with, _just been talking to my teacher who I'm attracted to in many ways,_ so he ignored it and lay awake, tossing and turning.

* * *

The followed week followed most of the same pattern. However, on Wednesday Dan and John walked together to the library after eating lunch. They turned in the books they had checked out during the previous visit and went to find new ones to check out. When they picked out new books they found a table to sit at and begin reading.

At some point during their stay at the library, John took hold of Dan's hand.

Dan looked up in response, then smiled at John's fond look.

He refocused on his book.

They spent a few minutes holding hands as they read, then Dan spotted a familiar figure from the corner of his eye.

He looked up to see Phil, standing near another table. He seemed to have been about to sit at the table he stood by. However, instead of sitting, he walked quickly towards the exit of the library.

"I'll be right back," Dan said to John, quickly putting a bookmark between the pages he was on and stood to follow Phil.

He followed Phil out into the frigid air and caught up to him on the pathway passed the steps into the building.

"Hey, wait," Dan said.

Phil stopped and turned to look at Dan with his jaw clenched.

"You probably shouldn't run out on your boyfriend like that," Phil said.

Dan felt as though Phil smacked him. His jaw fell open slightly.

"We were just reading," Dan said.

"I don't care," Phil replied. "I have papers to grade. I have to go."

Phil began to turn away, but Dan reached out to grab his hand.

"Stop. Please," Phil said.

Dan wasn't sure if Phil meant that he wanted him to stop being with John, or to stop preventing him from leaving. Maybe both.

"Why are you so jealous?" Dan asked him quietly.

"Because-!" Phil stopped himself and then continued quieter when he saw that passerby looked their way.

He leaned slightly closer to Dan and said, "You know why."

Dan did know. But he didn't think either of them were willing to admit it to each other yet.

With a thick voice, Phil said again, "I have to go."

Dan didn't say anything, so Phil turned and walked away. Dan watched him go for a moment, before returning to the library.

"What happened?" John asked Dan when he approached their table.

"Uhm, nothing. Just had a question for a teacher," Dan lied.

"Oh," John said.

"Uhm, I'm gonna go ahead and get out of here," Dan said as he began to collect his things.

John frowned, but said, "text me later or something."

"Okay," Dan said before walking away and leaving the library.

* * *

After Phil walked away from Dan, he walked to the school parking lot to find his car. Once inside the car, he put his laptop bag on the passenger seat and started the engine. He turned on the heater and waited for the car to warm up with one hand on the gear shift, the other on the door.

He seemed to be experiencing a perpetual coldness deep inside his chest. The car grew warm, but he was not comforted by it. He sighed heavily and then began to pull out of his parking space.

He drove home in a numb blur.

That evening he cooked, but only because he knew he should eat something.

As he stood by the stove, mixing asian sauce into his stir-fry, his phone rang. He stepped over to where it was plugged in and laying on the kitchen counter. He saw that it was Dan calling. He wanted to answer, but also did not want to answer. He swiped to the right, to ignore Dan's call.

Because he could talk to Dan all he wanted, but would never truly have him.

Phil frowned as he stared into the sizzling vegetables on his stove.

He thought he understood that Dan liked him as well.

If he did, why would he be with someone else? Why would he continue to talk to him if he didn't return Phil's feelings any longer?

A few minutes later, as Phil put his stir-fry onto a plate, his phone lit up and buzzed again. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was Dan texting him.

The text read, _Do you want to talk?_

He ignored that as well and sat down to eat.

* * *

The following week at school Dan waited outside Phil's classroom with a few other students. When Phil walked around the corner and down the hall to the classroom, Dan felt a pang in his chest.

Phil determinedly stared ahead as he walked down the hall passed the students to unlock the door for them. He was hyper-aware of Dan looking his way.

"Good morning, guys," he said, as cheerfully as he could muster. However, his greeting came out soft and tired-sounding.

Phil propped the door open after unlocking it and sat at his desk. The students filed in and found places to sit.

While Dan was facing the opposite wall, Phil looked his way and let out a deep sigh. Dan turned to slip into the chair at the desk he chose and Phil tore his eyes away.

Phil began to prepare for his lecture for the day as more students arrived. Once the class was full he started the session.

As he lectured he avoided Dan's eye with a lot of difficulty. He felt his gaze burning holes into him. He was dreading the time when the class would end and Dan would surely be the last one in the classroom.

So as soon as he completed the lecture and set the next assignment, he packed up his things. He left the classroom between two pairs of students.

Dan was shocked at the level of avoidance Phil was treating him with. He could dwell on nothing else for the rest of the day.

He supposed, however, that he didn't blame Phil. How could they continue to talk, while Dan was with John? He thought that maybe he was mistaken in agreeing to be John's boyfriend. But Dan still wondered about the true nature of his feelings for Phil. Did he simply want him because he couldn't have him?

He supposed that only time could tell.

* * *

And time went on.

November went by in a blur and they were nearing the end of Dan's semester. Which meant that he would no longer be in Phil's English class. Phil would no longer be his teacher.

Dan respected Phil's feelings by not forcing any interaction between them. However, when Phil rested his eyes on Dan during a lecture, he grew very warm in a pleasant way. Phil made a small pause in his lecture at this moment as well, cleared his throat, and continued.

Dan continued to see John as well. They had a date planned during the beginning of December. John seemed well excited for it, but Dan began to dread it the more excited John became.

As much as Dan wanted to cancel, he couldn't think of a proper excuse that John wouldn't see through. So on the night of, he apprehensively got ready. He picked out a button up shirt and a pair of nice jeans. He opted for one of his nicer coats as well, and hung that over his desk chair for when John arrived to pick him up.

Dan looked at himself in the mirror when he was dressed.

He felt he knew why John was so excited for that night and came to the realization that he might have to make an important decision. He began to dread the date even more. But John was arriving soon and it was too late to cancel.

With a sigh Dan put his shoes on and waited in the living room for a knock to sound. Chris was heating up a frozen dinner in the oven and was waiting for it to finish while he watched Netflix.

"You look nice," Chris said.

"Thanks," Dan said flatly.

"You don't seem very excited."

"I'm not," Dan answered. "I'm dreading it. But it's too late to cancel."

"Why don't you break up with him?" Chris said. Over the passed few weeks it became apparent to Dan's friends that he began to enjoy John's company less and less.

"I think I might have to," Dan said. "Before things go any further."

"Oh," Chris drawled understandingly.

"This is kind of messed up," Dan said.

Chris looked at him with knitted eyebrows.

"I might have to break up with him on a nice date that he planned."

"That sucks, mate. But you have to do what's best for you."

"I would've canceled. But it's too late now," Dan reasoned.

As if on a cue, John knocked the following moment. Dan got up and walked to the foyer and opened the front door.

"Hey," Dan said.

"Hey," John said with a bright smile. He looked up Dan's body appreciatively. Dan noticed and tried not to be uncomfortable.

"Let me grab my coat," he said.

Dan left John under the threshold to the flat and went to his bedroom to grab his coat and wallet.

When he returned he and John left the flat and walked to the end of the hall to the lift. Dan decidedly slipped his hands into his pockets so that he wouldn't have to hold John's.

John asked Dan about his day. He always appreciated John's thoughtfulness and kindness. He was a great friend but that was all Dan thought of him as.

"So I'm actually borrowing my friend's car for tonight so we don't have to take the bus," John said when they reached the ground level of Dan's building.

Dan's guilt rose. John put a lot of thought into this date.

John led Dan to a car parked on the street. Dan made it a point to open his door himself, knowing that John would try to. Dan didn't want to lead John into thinking that this date would end up exactly where he was most likely hoping it would.

When John climbed in on the other side of the car, he started the engine and pulled away from the curb. He drove further downtown near the mall as he chatted to Dan about his own day.

John parked in a large parking structure on an upper floor, close to the stairs and lifts. They took a lift down to the ground level and then exited the lift when the doors opened. They walked along the shops until they reached one of the finer restaurants of the mall.

Dan thought he couldn't be any more guilty and resolved to pay the bill when the time came, so that John would not have to.

"You're being awfully quiet," John remarked as they walked up to the restaurant.

"I'm just, you know, thinking," Dan said.

"Well, don't hurt yourself," John replied jokingly.

Dan wanted to say that it wasn't himself that he was worried about and he felt that in the kindest way possible.

Upon entering the restaurant they were put on a list to be seated, so they took their coats off and sat on a bench off to the side. Dan made an effort to be more talkative.

They were seated within fifteen minutes in a booth. Their server approached their table almost right away, so they ordered drinks. Their drinks were brought to them a few minutes later.

When their served asked if they were ready to order John asked, "Can we have a couple more minutes actually?"

"Of course," their waitress smiled and walked away.

John and Dan both continued to look over their menu, discussing menu items and what sounded best.

They both settled on something to eat and then put their menus on the end of the table. Their waitress stopped at their table to take their order and then walked away again.

Dan went quiet, thinking that if he went to the restroom, it would be the best opportunity to pay for the bill while John was unaware.

"Uhm, I'm gonna go use the restroom," Dan said.

"Okay," John replied.

Dan stood up and went to the front of the restaurant where he found the hostess that greeted them.

"Is everything going okay?" she asked, as Dan approached.

"Yeah, I just wanted to pay for the bill. Can you get my server?" Dan asked the host.

"Absolutely," the host said.

The host walked away, as the second hostess greeted a party coming in. Dan moved off to the side.

A few minutes later the hostess, followed by Dan and John's waitress, came up to the front.

"You wanted to pay your bill?" She asked.

"Yeah," Dan said. "Is that okay?"

"Of course."

The waitress gave Dan a check book, but without looking at the bill amount, Dan handed her his card.

"Okay, thank you," she said. "I'll run this for you and bring it right back."

The waitress walked away and returned with the check book and a pen to fill out the receipt. Dan made sure to leave a tip at twenty percent of the bill. He returned to his and John's table.

Dan realized he was gone for a suspiciously long time, but John didn't comment.

They were brought their food within another ten minutes and they dug in. They both enjoyed the food and John eventually asked for the bill.

"He took care of it already," the waitress said with a smile as she laid their drink refills on the table.

"What?" John said.

"Yeah," Dan jumped in. "I wanted to pay for it."

"Oh, so that's why you were in the restroom for so long," John said jokingly.

The waitress laughed and asked, "Is there anything else you guys need?"

"No, we're okay," John said. "Thank you."

They finished the last of their food and then got up to leave.

They walked back to John's car. Dan was so deep in thought, that he didn't realize he left his hand available for holding until John took hold of it.

Dan began to panic. Especially when John began to say, "So I was hoping you'd come back to mine for tea and maybe some dessert."

"Uh," Dan began. "I don't know."

They stopped beside John's car.

"I mean, you don't have to. I just thought-, it's okay. Another time, maybe."

"John, I should actually say something," Dan said.

John dropped Dan's hand in response. He looked at Dan with wide eyes.

"I think we should just be friends," Dan said finally.

John blinked at him as if he couldn't believe what Dan had just said to him.

"I'm sorry," Dan added. "I really like you. But I think of you more as a friend."

John looked down at his feet with a sad, hurt smile.

"You know, I had a feeling this was going to happen." He looked at Dan for a moment. "I just couldn't actually believe it."

"I'm sorry," Dan said again.

John didn't say it was okay, or fight for the relationship, but simply said, "the bus stop is outside the parking structure."

Dan was slightly hurt by that at first, but reasoned that he did just break up with John. He didn't deserve to have feelings to be hurt at a time like this.

"Okay," Dan said.

Dan wasn't sure if he should say "bye" or "see you later," but that was answered for him when John didn't say anything but climb into his friend's car and start the engine.

Dan turned and headed for the lift to the ground level.

* * *

 _i promise the next chapters to come will be happy and good but this story might be one of my shorter ones also sorry to the people who thought dan and phil would have angry jealous sex because of john lol im trying to make this story realistic even tho it isnt that uncommon for students and teachers to hook up lol idk_

 _anyways pls review and all that i will rlly appreciate it_

 _and come say hi at yesiwritefanfics . tumblr . com_


	11. Chapter 11

_dnt hate me for this pls omg_

* * *

Dan walked onto campus with a strange sense of serenity. It was his final day in Phil's class. Over the previous week he met with counselors to set up his schedule for the next unit.

He hadn't spoken with Phil since before he broke up with John. He was unsure of how he should approach Phil. He thought that maybe simply texting Phil, saying that he broke up with John, would suffice but he thought it would be best to speak to him about it in person.

He was somewhat excited for the prospect of seeing Phil and possibly spending time with him again. When he walked down the last hall to Phil's classroom, he saw that the door was already open and half the class was seated. Phil was at his computer desk, waiting for everyone to arrive.

Dan found his usual seat and settled in. Slowly the rest of class arrived. Phil looked up when it seemed everyone had found a seat.

"Okay, so as it's the last day of class," Phil said as he stood, taking a stack of papers with him. "I'm just going to have you guys fill out a short questionnaire."

"It's just mainly about the semester," Phil explained as he passed papers to each row of students and had the student at the front row pass their stack back.

"It should only take a few minutes. For the rest of the hour I'll be adding them to your final grade and later today you guys can see your final grade. So as soon as your done," Phil continued. "Just bring them up here to my desk and you're free to go for the day," he finished with a smile.

Dan's heart grew warm at the sight of Phil's smile. He blinked when the person sitting in front of him passed a sheet of paper to him and took it. He got out a pencil from the small pocket of his messenger bag and then looked over the questionnaire.

The questions were fairly generic, but he found difficulty with one.

 _What did you learn this semester?_

Dan sighed and looked around the room. Other students had already completed their questionnaire and were leaving the classroom.

As he continued to hesitate on the question, more students stood up from their desks.

He panicked slightly.

Then decided to write whatever came to mind.

 _I've matured a bit, I think, but I don't want to boast about that. I've learned to accept help and advice. I've learned patience and about taking chances. I've learned a lot of things._

Dan re-read his response three times. There weren't any directions on word limit, so he hoped that what he had would suffice. When he looked up, he found that he was the last student in the classroom.

He looked over his answers one last time, then stood, grabbing his bag as he went. Phil looked up and leaned back in his chair as Dan approached his desk.

Dan placed his questionnaire on the stack the other students left as he looked at Phil. Phil had an odd smile on his face.

It occurred to Dan that maybe Phil was reverting back to being completely professional around Dan.

"Have a good break," Phil said to him.

"Uh, yeah. You too," Dan said with a frown. He walked passed the desk and hesitated under the threshold to the classroom.

He whirled about and blurted, "I broke up with John!"

Phil turned around in his chair to look at Dan with a strange look.

"Okay," was all he said.

Dan hesitated, broke eye contact, then walked out of the room.

He cursed himself for being so awkward and felt as he if was reverting back to the way he was at the beginning of the semester.

He walked down the hall in a numb blur. He slowly came to the realization that he could have very well just had his very last interaction with Phil.

He suddenly felt sick. In the cafeteria with Pj and Chris, he didn't eat or speak to the other two.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked him as Dan sat with chin resting on his face.

Dan grunted, then said, "Yeah. Fine."

He didn't have work that day, so he trailed after PJ and Chris to the bus stop. He had enough sense to get on the right bus to his and Chris' flat while Chris went to PJ's.

When he arrived at home he walked in, slipped off his shoes, and turned on the heater. He dropped his bag on the couch before going into his room. He took off his coat and discarded that on his desk chair before collapsing into bed.

He fell asleep.

When he awoke he felt much better, much clearer. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and reached for his phone which was in his jeans pocket. He checked the time and saw that it was early afternoon. He hadn't slept too long.

When he emerged from the bedroom on a mission for something hot to drink, he saw that Chris and PJ were on the couch watching Netflix.

"Hey, he's alive," Chris said.

Dan let out half a laugh. He went into the kitchen to make hot cocoa. Fortunately, there was hot water on the stove from when Chris made tea for himself and PJ. With his hot cocoa he went into the living room and sat in the side chair. He pulled his phone from his pocket, took a sip of his drink, then placed his mug on the end table.

He leaned forward and lit up his phone. He checked his notifications, which were not many, then went to his previous messages. He tapped his last conversation with Phil. He scrolled up, then back down. He typed into the chat, _hey_. His thumb hovered over the send button.

To Dan's surprise, before he could send the message, a new message appeared in the thread.

Phil said, _hey._

So Dan hit send on his own message with a small, hopeful smile.

* * *

 _pls dnt hate me omg_

 _i did say this would be one of my shorter stories_

 _i just felt it right to end it right there bc dan says it could be the last time they see each other but then phil reaches out to him by text and then its kind of fade to black with the tone of happily ever after_

 _but i will do an epilogue! and maybe a couple one shots so have no fear its not_ really _over_


	12. Epilogue

_YAY the epilogue_

 _i hope you guys enjoy_

 _also i still may write one more thing for this story_

* * *

 _We should give it some time, I think_ Phil had said soon after the semester ended. Dan was suggesting that they meet up to spent some time together. He had to agree with Phil though, that it may be best that they wait to see each other on the off chance they were seen by someone who knew them both.

Dan and Phil constantly spoke on the phone and texted when they couldn't. Phil also frequented Dan's coffee shop when he worked.

Dan also could say that now that Phil was no longer his teacher, his desire to be with him never changed.

"I kind of thought, it was one those things where you want what you can't have or something, you know," Dan explained to Chris one evening when Phil hung up to cook himself dinner.

"But now I'm thinking," he continued. "What if this is it, you know?"

Chris didn't seem to understand.

"What if it works out with us, you know."

"Oh, well, I'm sure it could," Chris said. "He's a great guy. You're a great guy."

"Well, I know I'm great," Dan said jokingly and Chris mock-laughed.

"But seriously," Chris said. "I think it could. And if it does, then… I'm really happy for you."

Dan didn't really respond. He only smiled. 

* * *

"So, would you like to have dinner?" Phil asked one afternoon.

"Sure," Dan answered calmly, but his heart soared.

"I can come get you tonight at around seven?"

"That sounds great," Dan said, attempting to sound nonchalant.

"Alright, I'll see you then, okay?" Phil said.

"Okay," Dan said.

"Alright, talk to you later then. Bye."

"Bye."

Dan hung up and jumped up from where he was sitting on his bed.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

He couldn't contain his wide smile. Before leaving his bedroom, he took a breath so that he didn't alarm Chris and PJ who were in the living room.

"I'm going out tonight, so don't worry about me for dinner," Dan said to them.

"Oh, okay," Chris said. They stared at him expectantly.

"Erm, Er, Phil invited me out," he explained.

"Oh," Chris drawled in understanding.

"Yeah, so," Dan replied.

* * *

Dan was dressed and ready to go by 6:45. He wore a red and black plaid button-up and his favorite black jeans along with a pair of converse shoes. He had washed, blow-dried and straightened his hair. He passed the remaining fifteen minutes by scrolling through tumblr and twitter and glancing up at the time.

Chris and PJ were eating and whispering to each other, but Dan was too excited and nervous to catch anything they said.

At 7:03 a knock sounded at the door. Dan jumped up, then paused, fixed his fringe, then approached the door.

He pulled the door open to find Phil standing there. A smile spread across his face when they made eye contact for the first time in weeks.

"Hey," Phil said.

"Hey," Dan replied.

"Are you erm, ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Dan said. "Yes, let me just grab my coat."

"Take your time," Phil said.

Dan turned to grab his coat off its hook and pulled it on. He grabbed his set of keys as well and his wallet.

"Okay," Dan said.

"Okay. Let's go, then."

* * *

When Phil pulled into his neighborhood Dan looked at him questioningly.

"I thought we were having dinner?" He said.

"We are. But I wanted to cook for you instead."

"Oh," Dan said.

"That's okay, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Dan said with a smile. He was too excited at the prospect of having Phil all to himself.

Phil pulled into the driveway and the both of them climbed out of the door. Dan let Phil lead him inside.

As Dan stepped into the house he was greeted by the smell of cinnamon coming from a candle on the side table in the entrance way.

"I can take your coat and hang it up," Phil said.

"Sure," Dan turned and let Phil pull the coat from his shoulders. He followed Phil further into the house and could smell a roast.

"Wow, it smells amazing in here, Phil," Dan said.

"Thanks. It should be done now. I was cooking it all day and then I just thought I should invite you over for it."

"Well, thank you for inviting me," Dan said.

"No problem," Phil replied with a smile. He pulled the lid off the roast, causing another waft to reach Dan's nose.

"Yeah, it's definitely done," Phil said. He put the lid to the roaster on the counter and then went into the cupboard to get out two bowls. From a drawer he got out two knives and two forks.

"You can sit while I do this," Phil said, glancing back at Dan.

"Oh, okay."

Dan did as was suggested and picked a spot at the table. He watched Phil as he sliced the roast and then filled their bowls with the food.

He brought Dan's bowl to him and sat across from him.

Dan cut into his meat and took his first bite as Phil did the same. He glanced up after another bite and said, "This is freaking delicious."

Phil laughed and said, "Thanks."

Dan paused between his next two bites to look at Phil.

"What?" Phil asked him with a slightly sheepish smile.

"It's really good to see you," Dan said.

"It's really good to see _you_ ," Phil agreed.

Phil brought his hand up to the middle of the table, offering it to Dan.

So they ate with one hand, and held onto the other.

When they finished eating and Phil had rinsed their bowls out he asked, "Do you work tomorrow?"

"No," Dan said.

"Would you like to stay, like, for the night?"

"Oh," Dan said. "I could, I guess."

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

Phil returned to sitting across from Dan.

Dan paused to think about it. "I just don't have anything to change into in the morning."

"Okay, well maybe you can just stay for a movie or something," Phil suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Dan said.

"Yay," Phil said. He got up from the table and began to put away the leftovers. Dan decided he liked the more cheerful side of Phil. "Go pick out a movie. There's a shelf by the TV."

"Okay." Dan stood up from the table and went into the living room. He found the shelf Phil had referred to and scanned the titles with his eyes. He found a movie he hadn't seen in some time and pulled that one out.

He decided to go ahead and set up the movie when he heard the telltale sound of popping from the kitchen. Not long after Dan was settled into the couch, watching previews and Phil was bringing in a bowl of popcorn.

Phil sat on the edge of the couch beside him. When the previews ended he reached for the remote to hit 'play'. Then he settled in, cuddling up to Dan and leaving the popcorn in his lap for both of them to be able to reach.

The movie was forgotten within fifteen minutes when Dan turned to look at Phil. Phil looked back at him questioningly.

Dan leaned in slightly, offering himself to Phil. Phil took the offering almost immediately.

While attached at the mouth he moved the bowl of popcorn from his lap then held Dan's face in his hands.

Dan dreamt about this for months, but the reality was better than anything he imagined. With a pounding heart, he let Phil pull him closer until he was in Phil's lap.

Dan broke away for a breath and panted. "Phil," he said.

Phil continued to kiss along his jaw and to his neck.

"Hm?" Phil hummed.

"I think, erm," Dan took in a sharp breath, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes?" Phil said in Dan's ear.

"I think we should take it slow. You know, take our time."

"If that's what you want," Phil said. "You don't have to worry."

"Okay," Dan sighed. And they returned to kissing.

* * *

Later that evening when the movie was ending, Phil looked at Dan and said, "I don't want you to leave. You can borrow some of my pajamas and stuff. And I can make a good breakfast for us."

"Okay, I'll stay," Dan conceded.

* * *

 _also you guys are gonna one more pieces... maybe two more pieces for their story_

 _i hope you enjoyed and please review it gives me life lol_


	13. NSFW - wdaw one shot

its pretty short but pretty explicit hope you enjoy! lol

* * *

"Are you a virgin?" Phil asked Dan, in between kisses he placed on Dan's neck.

"Uh, no. But it has been, you know," Dan gulped nervously. "A while."

Phil continued to tease Dan and ran his hands down his chest. Dan's legs wobbled slightly while Phil did this, so he tightened his hands around Phil's shoulders.

"I imagine you're not a virgin either," Dan said.

"No," Phil said softly, lingering over a spot on Dan's neck that caused him to gasp and a flash of heat to spread through his body.

Dan was quickly growing hard. He moved his hands to the counter behind him, unsure of what to do. He was sure that Phil could feel him, though.

It'd been a few months since they first kissed. And each kiss since then brought them closer, and a little farther. They loved to kiss, touch, and be close. It was relaxing for Dan. But this particular kiss they were sharing was not relaxing, but exciting and sensual. It was territory they hadn't explored yet.

Phil's hands slipped underneath Dan's shirt, causing his heart to race exponentially. Skin slid over skin as Phil explored Dan's chest and back.

Dan became painfully aware of the rise and fall of his own chest, increasing. Phil pulled back slightly, and ran his hands up and down Dan's back. He began to the knead the flesh of the other's back.

"I love you," Phil said.

"I love you, too," Dan said and took a deep breath.

"I want to make you feel good," Phil said, looking Dan in the eye.

Dan's breath caught in his throat. He gulped.

"Would you like that?" Phil asked him in a deep, sensual voice as his hands settled at Dan's lower back.

"Yeah," Dan gasped out. He thought he might pass out; his head was spinning.

Phil's fingers drifted to the front of Dan's jeans, causing his erection to become more painful and more restricted by his briefs. Phil undid the other's button, then slid down the zipper. Dan sighed at the relief of his cock coming free. Phil returned to kissing the other's neck as he began to massage.

Dan tipped his head back, letting out a soft moan. He thought he might come from the first wave of pleasure. He tightened his grip on the counter behind him, forcing himself to hold out. It had been a while, but he wasn't 11 anymore, he told himself.

Phil removed his hand from Dan's erection and began to push up Dan's t-shirt, saying, "I want to see you."

Dan allowed him to remove his shirt, then choked on a breath when Phil lowered himself to the tile of the kitchen in front of him. Phil reached up to remove Dan's briefs, pulling all of his bottoms down to settle around his ankles.

Dan suddenly felt bashful with Phil seeing him for the first time, but he didn't hesitate in taking Dan in his hand. Phil leaned forward to place a few teasing kisses to the sensitive skin around Dan's cock as he began to pump.

Dan softly moaned with his eyes shut, letting himself enjoy Phil's touches. When his eyes fluttered back open, Phil was looking up at him with a dark look. Then he took Dan into his mouth, eliciting a loud moan from Dan.

Phil began to work him and reached up to brace himself by holding onto Dan's ass. He massaged him there as well. He pulled off of Dan, for a breath and said, "how does that feel?"

"So fucking good," Dan said. He took his hands off the counter and brought one to the other's skull, the other to his own cock to bring them back together. He watched as his cock disappeared into Phil's mouth. He began to gently thrust his hips forward as waves of pleasure ran through him. He cursed and moaned, then pulled back from Phil, afraid that he would release.

Panting, he stared down at Phil.

"I _want_ you to come," Phil said.

"I know," Dan said. "But I-," he took a deep breath. "I've thought about this for so long. I don't want it to end."

"It doesn't have to end," Phil said, and then returned to his ministrations to Dan.

Dan began to thrust into Phil again and saw that the other began to massage himself.

"Fuck," Dan gasped when Phil pulled off of him for another breath.

"Fuck yeah. Fuck my mouth, Dan," Phil said, breathing heavily. He waited, open-mouthed.

Dan could hardly resist. He held onto Phil's skull with both hands and let himself thrust.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Dan cried when Phil began to moan around him.

"Oh god," Dan gasped as he let out a few sporadic thrusts.

"Fuck yeah," Phil breathed out, loving the way Dan let go.

He released into Phil's mouth and over his face. Phil let the orgasm ride out, spreading Dan's come along his cock like lube as he continued to thrust.

Phil's own pleasure reached a peak from where he was touching himself. The friction through his jeans became too much and he followed Dan in release.

"Did you just come?" Dan asked, still breathing heavily.

"Yeah, that was so fucking hot," Phil said in explanation.

Dan caught his breath as Phil slowly stood. Dan reached for Phil to kiss him deeply. He could taste himself on Phil.

"That felt so fucking good," Dan said to Phil when he pulled back.

"Good," Phil said.

They kissed again and continued to kiss intermittently the rest of the night.

* * *

review pls and we can go to hell together lol


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